MINUTES

REGIONAL AIR QUALITY COUNCIL

Thursday, June 7, 2001
City of Arvada

MEMBERS PRESENT:

Jim Scherer, CHAIRMAN
Dennis Arfmann, Holme Roberts & Owen
Theresa Donahue, City & County of Denver
Don Parsons, City of Northglenn / DRCOG
Dave Sladek, The Clayton Group
Sharon Votruba,City of Thornton
Melanie Worley, Douglas County

MEMBERS NOT IN ATTENDANCE:

Jane Norton, Colo. Dept. Public Health & Environment
Tom Norton, Colo. Dept. of Transportation

OTHERS PRESENT:

Ken Lloyd, RAQC; Misty Howell, RAQC; Gerald Dilley, RAQC; Annmarie Jensen, RAQC; Jeff Houk, EPA; Jim Ives, City of Aurora; Bob Manwaring, City of Arvada; Bob Farmer; Shirleen Tucker, APCD; Sheila Burns, APCD; Jack Hidinger, EPA; Justin Seagal, EPA; Shelley Cook, City of Arvada; Margy Christiansen; Natalie Tidwell, RTD; Debbie Weaver, RTD; Marilee Utter, RTD; Jim Brandon, ESP; Carol Lyons, City of Arvada; Doug Lempke, AQCC; and Bob Lowdermilk, AQCC.

The meeting was called to order by Chairman Jim Scherer at 3:10 p.m. A quorum was present at 3:20 p.m.

Council and audience introduced themselves. Shelley Cook, Arvada City Council member, welcomed the RAQC to Arvada.

Approval of the Agenda

Postponed until a quorum was present.

Approval of the Minutes

Postponed until a quorum was present.

Informational Items

Postponed until a quorum was present.

Local Community Presentations

Regional Transportation District - RTD’s Transit-oriented Design Plans for Present and Future Light Rail Stations

Marilee Utter, Transit Oriented Development Specialist from the Regional Transportation District (RTD), gave Council an overview of RTD’s Transit Oriented Development (TOD) projects.RTD has been working with local communities to develop TOD, or walkable “villages” around transit stations that have mixed uses for buildings as well as parking, civic plazas and community spaces.

The objective of TOD is to get larger populations of people to live and work as close as possible to a transit stop. This contributes to improved air quality through the reduction of automobile trips. Elements of TOD include:

City of Arvada - Proposed Gold Line Light Rail Project

Bob Manwaring, Arvada City Traffic Engineer, reviewed the Wadsworth/Gold Line grade separation project. He explained the process used and the decisions reached regarding how best to redevelop the intersection of a rail line and the Wadsworth corridor at Olde Towne Arvada. He presented the preferred alternative which included providing a pedestrian link on both sides of Wadsworth and a separated grade between the rail line and Wadsworth. This change would eliminate the traffic problems when the train passes through – especially at rush hour.

Additionally, the development at the intersection will be the impetus for creating a much more pedestrian friendly zone and extending the type of walkable development that is currently in Old Towne Arvada to a larger part of the City.

Councilwoman Shelley Cook presented the results of a transportation Major Investment Study regarding the I-70 to Golden corridor. A Citizen’s Taskforce, Technical Advisory Committee, and Policy Advisory Committee selected Light Rail Transit to parallel the current Gold Line rail from Ward Road to Denver Union Station. She explained that Olde Town was originally transit oriented and Light Rail will increase the opportunity for TODs.

The light rail Gold Line would run along the Burlington Northern/Santa Fe route from Denver North to Pecos, then southwest to Golden Station through Arvada and Wheat Ridge. The light rail line and other upgrades in the corridor are anticipated to reduce regional vehicle miles traveled by 63,000 per day.

A private company has submitted an unsolicited proposal to build the light rail Gold Line as a public/private partnership venture. The City evaluated the proposal and has issued a request for qualifications to determine if other companies are interested in developing the line.

Approval of the Agenda

Don Parsons moved to approve the agenda. Seconded by Dennis Arfmann. Motion passed without objection.

Approval of the Minutes

Don Parsons moved to approve the minutes. Seconded by Dave Sladek. Sharon Votuba and Dennis Arfmann abstained. Motion passed without objection, with noted abstentions.

Informational Items

Chairman:

None.

Executive Director:

Ken Lloyd informed Council that an I/M bill (HB 1402) was passed by the legislature which allows CDPHE to renew the current contract for up to 2 years, then another 4 years or it can be rebid.

He indicated EPA has proposed approval of the Ozone Maintenance Plan. Approval should be finalized in 2-3 months since parallel processing was used.

The Governor signed the bill approving the PM-10 Maintenance Plan, so the plan can now be forwarded to EPA for approval.

Ken also gave Council a brief overview of the upcoming ozone season kick-off events. Various cities have included ozone articles in their newsletters.

Members:

No Reports.

Committees:

No Reports.

Public Comment

None.

Overview of EPA’s New MOBILE6 Emissions Model

Jeff Houk, Environmental Engineer with the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), briefed Council on EPA’s MOBILE6 model, which is scheduled for public release next month. MOBILE6 is the model that areas must use to estimate mobile source emission inventories from carbon monoxide (CO); hydrocarbons or volatile organic compounds (HC) and nitrogen oxides (NOx).

Improvements to the model over the current MOBILE5 version include: updated emissions rates based on new studies and fleet data; control programs such as Tier II, low sulphur gasoline, heavy duty diesel and on board diagnostics (OBD); corrections for off-cycle (aggressive driving and A/C use) driving conditions; and, an expanded capability to handle different road types. Jeff indicated that MOBILE6 will generate higher base year and lower future HC and NOx emissions than previously generated by MOBILE5. CO emissions will be significantly higher for all years, but the percentage reduction from baseline could be greater than previously estimated.

Ken Lloyd informed Council that an interagency work group including the RAQC, APCD, DRCOG, CDOT and the EPA has been established to evaluate MOBILE6 implementation issues and timelines. He explained that the PM10 Maintenance Plan is the only SIP document requiring revision, however, the impact on HC, NOx and CO mobile source emissions budgets for transportation conformity has to be addressed in a timely fashion based on the DRCOG’s schedule for conformity determinations. The workgroup hopes to have an idea of the impact of MOBILE6 on emissions budgets by this fall.

PM-2.5 Monitoring Program and Review of Data

Sheila Burns, Manager of Technical Services for the Air Pollution Control Division (APCD) described the state’s PM 2.5 monitoring program. The statewide PM2.5 monitoring network, which was established during 1999, currently consists of 20 sites, including 6 sites in the six county metro Denver area. Sheila indicated the readings from the network were well within EPA’s PM 2.5 standard for 2000.

There was discussion on the February 15-17 episode of elevated PM-2.5 readings. Sheila indicated that the weather features were typical winter conditions for the metro area and the PM-10 readings were not unusual. The metro area experienced a shallow inversion which kept emissions in the area. She noted that February 15 was also the worst visibility day of the high pollution season, which indicates that PM-2.5 has an effect on visibility. The samples from this episode have been sent to an outside firm for chemical analysis.

She informed Council of the State’s real-time web camera which can be accessed through the State’s website as well as various media and local government sites. Ken Lloyd added the RAQC site also has the link.

Sheila said the APCD will now focus on quality assuring the database. Currently, chemical speciation equipment is being installed at the CAMP and Adams City monitors which will provide useful information for PM-2.5 source apportionment.

She said that designation of attainment or nonattainment by EPA will be based on three years of data, possibly 2000, 2001 and 2002. However, other states have not been as successful as Colorado in getting their networks up and operational so it could take longer for designations. EPA will make the final decision when more nationwide data are available.

There being no further business before the Council, the meeting was adjourned at 5:32 p.m.