MINUTES

REGIONAL AIR QUALITY COUNCIL

Thursday, May 4, 2000
Greenwood Village

MEMBERS PRESENT:

Dennis Arfmann, Holme Roberts & Owen
Theresa Donahue, City & County of Denver
Jane Norton, Colo. Dept. Public Health & Environment (via Phone)
Tom Norton, Colo. Dept. of Transportation
Don Parsons, City of Northglenn / DRCOG
Dave Sladek, The Clayton Group

MEMBERS NOT IN ATTENDANCE:

Jim Scherer, CHAIRMAN
Sharon Votruba, City of Thornton
Melanie Worley, , Douglas County

OTHERS PRESENT:

Ken Lloyd, RAQC; Misty Howell, RAQC; Gerald Dilley, RAQC; Laura Hagg Nelson, RAQC; Annmarie Jensen, RAQC; Doug Lempke, AQCC; Shirleen Tucker, CDPHE; Jim Ives, City of Aurora; Bruce Abel, SETA; Carol Maclennan, Tri-County Health; Margy Christiansen; Doug Lawson, AQCC; Bob Lowdermilk, AQCC; Mike Silverstein, APCD; George Gerstle, CDOT; Rick Barrett, APCD; Shawn Khankan, City of Greenwood Village; and Larry Warner, CDOT.

__________________________________________________________________________________

The meeting was called to order by Vice Chairman Don Parsons at 3:00 p.m. A quorum was present at 4:45 p.m. via phone.

Approval of the Agenda

Postponed until a quorum was present.

Approval of the Minutes

Postponed until a quorum was present.

Informational Items

Vice-Chairman:

No Report.

Executive Director:

Ken Lloyd reported that Jim Scherer will be back in the country on June 9 and will be out again from July 24 to August 11. This means he will be here for the July meeting and the second meeting in August.

Ken also updated Council on the status of filling the open position for an air quality planner. Candidates will be coming in for final interviews on May 15.

Members:

No Reports.

Committees:

No Reports.

Report from Air Quality Control Commission

Doug Lempke, Technical Secretary for the AQCC, reviewed the information discussed by the Commissioners at their April meeting. The AQCC approved requesting extension of the RVP waiver, but for only one year.

Doug then gave an overview of upcoming issues that the Commissioners will consider, which include tours of Public Service’s Valmont and St. Vrain facilities, and discussion on the Annual I/M Report to the Legislature.

Local Community Presentations

City of Greenwood Village - City’s Use of Electric Vehicles

Shawn Khankan, City of Greenwood Village, explained that Greenwood Village purchased two electric vehicles in 1998 in response to requirements of Regulation 17. The trucks get 50-58 miles on a charged battery. It takes 4-8 hours to charge the battery. These vehicles are used for site inspections and short trips within Greenwood Village. He indicated it is difficult to find these types of vehicles because car dealerships consider them to be test vehicles. Many dealerships have a minimum purchase requirement, which is more than Greenwood Village wanted or could afford. Currently, Greenwood Village is looking into some hybrid vehicles.

Council took a few minutes to look at and drive the trucks.

Southeast Transportation Authority (SETA) - Link Shuttle

Bruce Abel, Southeast Transportation Authority, gave Council a brief history of how the Link Shuttle was developed. The Link Shuttle is a circulator bus service linking southeast corridor businesses to regional RTD transit services. The Link is a free service that runs Monday through Friday, 6:00 am to 6:00 pm. The buses operate every 10 minutes in both directions along an eight to ten mile circular route. A complete loop takes approximately 40 minutes.

SETA conducted a survey and found that 42% of the Link riders drive less often since the Link was implemented. Out of that 42%, 58% indicated they use RTD to come to work. Currently, ridership is 600 per day. SETA’s goal is to increase ridership to 800 per day by June and 1,000 per day by October.

Carol Maclennan, Tri-County Health Department, indicated she uses the Link and applauded its dependability.

Colorado Department of Transportation - Southeast Corridor and its Air Quality Impacts

Larry Warner, CDOT, gave Council an overview of the Southeast Corridor project. He explained that the bid process will be best value, not low bid. A transportation demand management program (TDM) will be funded through the construction. He indicated the project would have some positive air quality benefits within the corridor, such as, decrease in carbon monoxide levels, and decrease in bus emissions. Also, the light rail is expected to have a significant effect on travel behavior and encourage higher density land uses and a mix of uses, which can reduce trip making.

Public Comment and Discussion

None.

Legislative Wrap-Up

Annmarie Jensen stated that all of bills the Council was following passed. She informed Council of changes made to bills since the last meeting: HB 1257, concerning taxation of property used for pollution control, added language, which would allow a refund, if there is a revenue surplus of at least $350 million; and SB 190, concerning the use of methyl tertiary butyl ether (MTBE), was signed into law.

Ken Lloyd stated that under HB 1172, members of the Legislature had until April 10 to request review of the Carbon Monoxide Maintenance Plan and Redesignation Request. No such request was made, therefore the Plan has been forwarded to the Governor for submission to EPA.

Ken indicated that Representative Mark Paschall was planning to attend the meeting to discuss HB 1492. Council postponed discussion of HB 1492 until Representative Paschall’s arrival.

Approval of Proposed Ozone Awareness Campaign Projects

Laura Hagg Nelson explained that the use of Dr. Stedman’s Smart Sign during this summer’s ozone season would be a good tool to raise public awareness about the importance of a well-maintained car. There have been discussions with Dr. Stedman to use the sign for five weeks this summer at key locations around the metro area. The Smart Sign costs $2,000 per week. Environmental Systems Products has committed $4,000 for the project. Boulder has indicated they would like to use the sign for two weeks and would pay half the cost. Staff is asking for approval to enter into an agreement with the University of Denver to deploy the Smart Sign for seven weeks this summer at a cost of $14,000 ($4,000 Environmental Systems, $2,000 Boulder and $8,000 RAQC grant funds).

Since a quorum was not present Council did not make an official motion at this time.

Laura and Shirleen Tucker, APCD, gave Council an overview of a Gas Cap Replacement program conducted in the Cincinnati, Ohio area . This program ran from May through September 1998. The gas caps were tested at area BP Amoco stores and E-check stations, the inspection and maintenance program for the area. Cars were also tested at large employer sites. Through the Cincinnati testing program more than 5,700 gas caps were replaced, which translated into an estimated savings of 1.58 tons of VOCs per day. The program also included mailing gas caps to owners of vehicles manufactured between 1971 and 1973. 18,000 gas caps were mailed, with an estimated savings of 1.97 tons of VOCs per day.

Currently, RAQC staff, APCD staff and Envirotest staff are discussing details of how this type of program might work in the metro area. Shirleen explained developing a program in the metro area is complicated by the multiple types of vehicle gas caps needed and the restriction against Envirotest performing repairs.

Ken Lloyd explained that staff is seeking direction from Council. He indicated there is no funding for this program in the current budget. Tom Norton stated there might be an opportunity to get CMAQ money through CDOT or DRCOG. Council directed staff to pursue the idea of a Gas Cap Replacement program.

Council watched a video presentation of a Channel 4 news report on ozone and lawnmowers, which included comments from Laura Hagg Nelson.

Misty Howell contacted Jane Norton by phone at 4:40 p.m. so that Council would have a quorum to vote on issues discussed at the meeting.

Approval of the Agenda

Dennis Arfmann moved to approve the agenda. Seconded by Tom Norton. Motion passed without objection.

Approval of the Minutes

Theresa Donahue moved to approve the minutes. Seconded by Tom Norton. Motion passed without objection.

Approval of Proposed Ozone Awareness Campaign Projects

Don Parsons moved to enter into an agreement with the University of Denver to deploy the Smart Sign for seven weeks this summer at a cost of $14,000 ($4,000 Environmental Systems, $2,000 Boulder and $8,000 RAQC funds). Seconded by Theresa Donahue. Motion passed without objection.

There being no further actions requiring a quorum, the conference call with Jane Norton was concluded.

Legislative Wrap-Up (Continued)

Ken Lloyd explained that HB 1492 was introduced last week and it passed in both houses unanimously. The final bill was similar to the concept Jim Brandon explained to Council at the April meeting. The bill supports clean/dirty screen programs, allows CDPHE to extend the contract with Environmental Systems Products, and allows confirmatory tests to be done at centralized locations (not necessarily a state facility). The bill also allows Larimer County, Weld County and the Colorado Springs area to have similar programs with a $5 cost. The bill does not address enforcement for high emitters.

With this bill, a $7 fee per registered vehicle is imposed annually to pay for the remote sensing clean screen and I/M tests. Vehicle registration notices would indicate if a vehicle needs a test. In order to satisfy TABOR issues, a trust account would be set up for the funds. The Department of Revenue would distribute the funds to the contractor. This bill will not be considered by Governor Owens for signature.

There was discussion on the implementation issues and the effects this bill will have on the RAQC’s mobile sources subcommittee process. The bill sets a framework that will aid the subcommittee’s work and should not restrict the RAQC’s consideration of issues.

Update on Mobile Sources Subcommittee

Ken Lloyd stated that the mobile sources subcommittee will meet on Friday, May 12 at 8:30 a.m. House Bill 1492 will be a topic of discussion at this meeting. The Subcommittee will also discuss high emitter and clean screen options.

There being no further business before the Council, the meeting was adjourned at 5:00 p.m.