Chairman Bruce Traughber opened the June meeting of the Louisville Metro Air Quality Task force (Task Force). Ten Task Force members were present. A quorum of the Task Force was not present.
Chairman Traughber announced that the Metro Council had passed the budget, which included funding for the Air Pollution Control District’s (District’s) air toxics program. The District will also receive a grant from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) which will be used for the air toxics program. He also announced that the Transit Authority of River City (TARC) will be getting low-sulfur diesel fuel, starting July 1st, and the existing, higher-sulfur diesel fuel should be used up within a month. Using low-sulfur diesel fuel should result in reduced oxides of nitrogen (NOx) and fine particulate matter emissions.
District staff made a presentation on the history and accomplishments of the State Implementation Plan (SIP) Advisory Panel (SIP Panel). The SIP Panel was started in early 1991 to broaden the community’s understanding of the requirements of the Clean Air Act, build a consensus among the various segments of the community, to provide input and advice during the SIP development process, and to foster a spirit of cooperation and willingness to work together to accomplish the requirements of the Clean Air Act. The SIP Panel was further asked to explore the prospect of balancing the need for economic development with the need to improve air quality, to insure that the burden of control was spread equally across the community, that all parties had opportunity for comment, and that the plan was capable of meeting the requirements of the Clean Air Act in the fairest possible manner for all competing interests in Jefferson County. The SIP Panel established four committees: Stationary Source, Mobile Sources, Area Sources, and Legal/Institutional Issues.
After developing a plan to meet the 15% volatile organic compound (VOC) emission reduction requirement, which included “at a minimum, the implementation of Reid Vapor Pressure control of gasoline,” a series of public meetings was held at the government centers to provide an opportunity for additional public input on the recommended plan.
One of the most significant decisions made by the SIP Panel was to hold each source sector (industry, area sources, and mobile sources) accountable for achieving a 15% VOC reduction of the emissions from that source sector. As part of the process of developing a plan to reduce emission beyond the 15% plan, in 1999 the SIP Panel held a joint meeting with the Clark and Floyd Counties Regional Air Quality Steering Committee.
The Task Force discussed the next steps of developing a recommended plan for meeting the 8-hour ozone standard. It was agreed that the Task Force members needed to know what ozone modeling has been performed to date, who did the modeling, and what the Louisville area’s air quality will be in relation to the 8-hour ozone standard after the full implementation of the national measures that are already adopted, which would include the NOx SIP Call, the Tier II standards for mobile sources, the reduced sulfur in gasoline and diesel fuels, and the other diesel engine controls.
It was further agreed that the next meeting should focus on reviewing the results of the existing ozone modeling and defining what the target for additional, local reductions should be. The District will contact EPA Region 4 and the Indiana Department of Environmental Management (IDEM) to invite a representative to the next meeting. It was explained that IDEM participates in the Lake Michigan Air Directors Consortium (LADCO), which has been significantly involved with ozone modeling that would include the Louisville area.
It was stated that any proposed strategy should look beyond the industry, area, non-road mobile, and mobile source categories and consider nontraditional programs such as energy-reduction strategies and more effective land use planning.
It was asked what predictions there are for future growth in the Louisville area and what types of industry the community is trying to attract. It was suggested that Joe Reagan of Greater Louisville, Inc. and Paul Coomes of the University of Louisville be invited to a future meeting to address these questions. The District will also make a presentation on the activities of the Kentuckiana Air Education (KAIRE) program at a future meeting.
The next Task Force meeting will be Friday, August 27, 2004, from 2:00 to 4:00 p.m., in the District’s Board Room, 850 Barret Avenue, Louisville.
The following document from the June 25th meeting is available from the District’s web page at www.apcd.org/taskforce/meetings/20040625
The presentation on the history and accomplishments of the SIP Advisory Panel is available only on paper. Please contact Jon Trout at (502) 574-7251 or Jonathan.Trout@loukymetro.org if you would like a copy.