Chairman Bruce Traughber opened the April meeting of the Louisville Metro Air Quality Task Force (Task Force). Fifteen Task Force Members were present, and Glen Logan attended for Dennis Karl and Sharon Dodson attended for George Siemens. A quorum of the Task Force was present. Chairman Traughber welcomed Representative Reginald Meeks, who was able to attend his first meeting now that the 2004 Kentucky legislative session has ended.
Chairman Traughber announced that as a result of the last hearing on the lawsuit involving the close of the Vehicle Emissions Testing (VET) Program, it is not likely that Judge Heyburn will order the VET Program to be restarted. In response to a question on the antibacksliding issue, it was stated that the Louisville Metro Air Pollution Control District (District) will be recommending action by the Louisville Metro Air Pollution Control Board (Board) to approve enforceable reductions in the emissions allowed by the Kentucky State Implementation Plan (SIP) to offset the increase in emissions from closing the VET Program. A SIP revision request will then be sent to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). The District is working closely with the EPA and has every reason to believe that the SIP revision request is approvable.
The District continues to develop a comprehensive air toxics program; an announcement on this proposed program will be made soon.
In response to a question on what public outreach the District was undertaking to publicize ozone action days, it was reported that the District has increased its public awareness program. The presentation on the Kentuckiana Air Education (KAIRE) program that was given to the Board could be repeated for the Task Force.
On April 15, the EPA Administrator signed the area designations for the 8-hour ozone standard and the Phase I implementation rule. A total of 474 counties in 32 states were designated nonattainment. The Louisville area was designated nonattainment and given a Basic classification under Subpart 1 of Part D of the Clean Air Act. This classification results in a June 2009 attainment date, which will be based on the air quality in 2006 to 2008. A list of the designations and classifications for the states in EPA Regions 4 and 5 and a chart of the requirements by area classification were distributed (available from the District’s web site - see below). Chairman Traughber stated that although the Clean Air Act would allow three years for the submittal of a plan to attain the 8-hour ozone standard, Mayor Abramson has requested that the Task Force develop a plan in a much shorter time frame. Being classified under Subpart 1 means that the Louisville area will have more flexibility in determining the appropriate reductions to require; specific control measures are not mandated.
Dr. Michael Chang, Georgia Institute of Technology, Earth and Atmospheric Sciences Department, made the presentation Air Quality Strategies for the Future: Managing Complex Systems (available from the District’s web site - see below).
Following his presentation, Dr. Chang said that a program in Atlanta last year paid $3 per day for individuals to carpool/take mass transit. In a follow up study, it was found that 75% of people continued to take alternative transportation six months after they were no longer paid to do so. An additional study will track that rate after nine months. Another approach to increasing citizen actions on ozone action days is to get people to put in writing what they will do on ozone action days. Additionally, some companies found that their employees were more productive when the companies funded alternatives to their employees driving to work individually on ozone action days.
Dr. Chang suggested that if new residential growth were designed as villages instead of the typical suburban subdivision, then residents would be able to change their transportation choices for work, shopping, and recreation. This would not only reduce air pollution but encourage a healthier lifestyle. It was agreed that smaller communities could plan growth in a manner that would allow these communities to grow without becoming big cities with big transportation problems.
It was asked whether the Louisville area being classified Basic nonattainment under Subpart 1, resulting in no mandatory controls, would really be beneficial in solving the 8-hour ozone problem. The designated Louisville nonattainment area is comprised of five counties. However, the Louisville metropolitan area is significantly larger, and there are many people who commute to Louisville from these additional counties. This regional problem needs a regional solution. It was suggested that the Task Force petition the EPA to expand the Louisville nonattainment area to include these other counties.
It was asked whether the Task Force should factor in photochemical reactivity when developing a recommended control strategy. Dr. Chang indicated that contrary to what some people believe, the biogenic isoprene emissions are more reactive than many of the anthropogenic volatile organic compound (VOC) emissions. For example, in the Atlanta area, biogenic emissions comprise 79% of the VOC emissions, but represent 98% of the reactivity-adjusted VOC emissions.
Dr. Chang indicated that for the Atlanta area, more recent reductions in ozone precursor emissions were having less impact on reducing ozone concentrations. It was asked whether the reductions resulting from the EPA’s NOx SIP Call would substantially reduce the ozone concentrations in the Louisville area. Dr. Chang said that he did not know where the Louisville area was with regards to diminishing returns from emission reductions. He added that it is not known whether the increased emissions resulting from growth would override the reductions from the NOx SIP Call. He indicated that the Los Angeles area has significantly reduced ozone concentrations through the implementation of the more stringent motor vehicle standards and other measures, although that area still has a long way to go to realize acceptable air quality.
Chairman Traughber indicted that the next step for the Task Force is to gain a better understanding of the sources of VOC and NOx emissions in the Louisville area.
The next Task Force meeting will be Friday, May 28, 2004, from 2:00 to 4:00 p.m., in the District's Board Room, 850 Barret Avenue, Louisville.