MINUTES

REGIONAL AIR QUALITY COUNCIL

Thursday, March 2, 2000

Broomfield City Hall

MEMBERS PRESENT:

Jim Scherer, CHAIRMAN
Dennis Arfmann, Holme Roberts & Owen /CACI
Theresa Donahue, City & County of Denver
Jane Norton,Colo. Dept. Public Hlth & Env
Don Parsons,City of Northglenn / DRCOG
Dave Sladek, The Clayton Group
Sharon Votruba, City of Thornto

MEMBERS NOT IN ATTENDANCE:

Tom Norton, Colo. Dept. of Transportation(Excused)
Melanie Worley, Douglas County(Excused)

OTHERS PRESENT:

Ken Lloyd, RAQC; Misty Howell, RAQC; Gerald Dilley, RAQC; Laura Hagg Nelson, RAQC; Annmarie Jensen, RAQC; Doug Lempke, AQCC; Stan Dempsey, Colorado Petroleum Association; George Gerstle, CDOT; Bob Farmer; Dee Rothery, BECC; Carol Maclennan, Tri- County Health; Monte Whaley, Camera/Enterprise; Faye Flemming, CACI; Felice Nida, Charlier Associates; Mike Ermisch, Downing Thorpe & James; Bob Brady, Coors Brewing Company / AQCC; Richard Fritz, NOAA Research Labs; Kirk Oglesby, City of Broomfield; Lauren Martens, Transit Alliance; Matt Mosely, Transit Alliance; Ben Beaty, City of Westminster; Shirleen Tucker, CDPHE; and Alice Guthrie, City of Boulder.

__________________________________________________________________________________

The meeting was called to order by Chairman Jim Scherer at 3:05 p.m.

A quorum was present.

Approval of the Agenda

The Update on the Mobile Source Subcommittee will be moved on the agenda to follow public comment.

Theresa Donahue moved to approve the agenda as amended. Seconded by Sharon Votruba. Motion passed without objection.

Approval of the Minutes

The minutes will be changed to reflect the correct spelling of Don Parsons’ name.

Don Parsons moved to approve the minutes as corrected. Seconded by Theresa Donahue. Motion passed without objection.

Welcome and Introductions:

Jim Scherer welcomed everyone to the meeting and asked them to be sure to sign the attendance sheets. Jim introduced himself as the new Chairman. He indicated he appreciates the opportunity to be Chairman. He also introduced Dave Sladek, new Council member. Dave gave Council an overview of his background. Council members and members of the audience introduced themselves.

Informational Items

Chairman:

Jim Scherer informed Council that he will be in Indonesia for the next three months. He explained the Governor’s office believes his absence will not be a problem because he will be back when Council will be considering findings/recommendations from the Mobile Sources Subcommittee.

He received a copy of a letter from the Environmental Defense Fund (EDF) concerning reinstatement of ozone non-attainment designation, which was sent to the AQCC and CDPHE. Jim distributed the letter to Council. EDF is asking the AQCC to reconsider its opposition to the reinstatement of the 1-hour ozone standard redesignation.

Executive Director:

No Report.

Members:

No Reports.

Committees:

No Reports.

Report from Air Quality Control Commission

Bob Brady, Commission Chair for the AQCC, reviewed the information discussed by the Commissioners at their February meeting.

Mr. Brady then gave an overview of upcoming issues that the Commissioners will consider, which include rulemaking hearings on Reg. 12 (Diesel Inspections) and Reg. 17 (Clean Fuel Fleet Program), and continued discussion on regional haze.

Award Presentation

Jim Scherer thanked Shirleen Tucker for her work as the Council Chairman and presented her with an award on behalf of the Council.

City of Broomfield Presentations

Kirk Oglesby, Director of Community and Governmental Affairs for the City of Broomfield, welcomed everyone to Broomfield. He indicated the Mayor was unable to attend today’s meeting.

Mr. Oglesby gave the Council a brief background on the Northwest Parkway. He explained how public attitudes toward mass transit have changed over the years.

He then introduced Felice Nida from Charlier Associates. Ms. Nida gave Council background on the ZIP Shuttle planning. The ZIP shuttle is a fixed guideway system that is complemented by transit-oriented development patterns, a planned regional (RTD) multi- modal transportation center and a series of pedestrian and bicycle circulation systems. The ZIP will help to mitigate the adverse effects of development in the US 36 Corridor by enabling “internal capture” trip reductions, reducing congestion on adjacent roadways and providing access to suburban job opportunities. The ZIP shuttle will be a free service funded by a sales tax.

Public Comment

Gabi Hoefler, Boulder Clean Air Consortium, informed Council that the Consortium is planning a no drive day in Boulder County on September 13, 2000.

Update on Mobile Sources Subcommittee

Jim Scherer stated the meeting of this committee on February 18^th was well attended.

Ken Lloyd indicated it was apparent after the first meeting that the approach previously approved by Council needed adjustment. RAQC and APCD staff met to discuss options for preparing the report. The outline will serve as direction for the subcommittee and the report to Governor Owens. The goal is for the subcommittee to determine a set of recommendations for the short-term and long-term.

Council liked the new approach, which allows technical experts to review the strategies and the subcommittee to consider policy issues.

Jim invited everyone to attend the subcommittee’s next meeting on Friday, March 3, 2000 at 8:30 am, 1445 Market Street, Room 210.

“Meeting the Transportation Challenge”

Lauren Martens, Transit Alliance, gave Council a brief background overview of the Alliance.

Matt Mosely, Transit Alliance, then showed Council the slide presentation that the Alliance has prepared and presented to many organizations. The presentation shows the benefits of alternative modes of transportation.

Legislative Update

Annmarie Jensen updated Council on legislation that is being monitored. She indicated that an amendment to House Bill 00-1172 will be offered on the Senate floor to clarify that if a bill to change the SIP fails, then the SIP, as submitted to the legislature, will be allowed to be submitted to EPA for approval.

She stated that Senate Bill 00-190, which was introduced since the Council last met, establishes civil penalties for selling products that include MTBE. Annmarie indicated that if this bill passes, SIP language that includes MTBE would need to be changed.

Stan Dempsey, Colorado Petroleum Association (CPA), stated that CPA has concerns with this bill because it imposes an immediate ban on MTBE products, which will effect the cost ethanol products. Currently, CPA is suggesting the bill include a three-year phase-out of MTBE.

RAQC staff will work with CDPHE staff to determine if and how this bill will effect the Carbon Monoxide Maintenance Plan.

Denver Channel 8 Program on Air Quality

Council watched a 15 minute program on air quality, which ran on Denver’s Channel 8 in February. Ken Lloyd and Theresa Donahue were participants in the program.

There being no further business before the Council, the meeting was adjourned at 5:20 p.m.