Loading...
HomeMy WebLinkAboutAir Quality Advisory Board - Minutes - 02/28/2022 AIR QUALITY ADVISORY BOARD TYPE OF MEETING – REGULAR Monday, February 28, 2022, 5:30 – 8:00 pm via Zoom 02/28/22 – MINUTES Page 1 1. CALL TO ORDER 5:32pm 2. ROLL CALL • List of Board Members Present − Karen Artell- Chair − Wayne Chuang − Jason Miller − Greg Boiarsky − Greg Clark − Mark Houdashelt − Dan Welsh • List of Board Members Absent − N/A • List of Staff Members Present − Cassie Archuleta, Staff Liaison − Kelly Smith, Senior Environmental Planner − Jason Komes, Senior AQ Specialist • List of Guests − N/A 3. PUBLIC PARTICIPATION a. No public comment 4. APPROVAL OF MINUTES b. Greg moved and Jason seconded a motion to approve the January AQAB minutes as amended. Motion passed 6-0-1. 5. PREVIOUS BUSINESS a. AQ Overview Work Session- debrief − An air quality overview was presented to City Council on February 22, 2022. Council AIR QUALITY ADVISORY BOARD TYPE OF MEETING – REGULAR 0 2/28/22 – MINUTES Page 2 expressed support for City’s work and AQAB engagement. Potential future topics include revisiting outdoor burning regulations, increasing electric conversion efforts for small engines, and increasing efforts on idling program outreach. − City Council and County Commissioners have an Air Quality discussion scheduled during a joint meeting April 13th from 5:30pm- 7:30PM. − Cassie forwarded a letter that the City sent to the COGCC regarding pending recompletion permit applications . The City had similar sentiments that the County had in its letter to the COGCC. The COGCC has not yet responded. Both the City and County are asking for surface impact permits. − Discussion − Karen asked about the injection well included in the recompletion applications. Cassie speculated the operator is moving away from using the well as an injection well and might be looking to use it another way which could cause gas production impacts. 6. NEW BUSINESS a. Oil and Gas Update − Kelly Smith, Senior Environmental Planner and Cassie Archuleta, Air Quality Program Manager, provided an overview of key decisions and the overall organization of the draft regulations that will be released in Q2 of this year. Council will hear an update on March 22nd, 2022. − Feedback to date has indicated that the community and City boards don’t want to see oil and gas development in our City or natural areas. The industry does not want to see a ban on new oil and gas development and wants to align with the COGCC rules. The City can adopt more stringent criteria for setbacks including additional occupied buildings and land uses like recreation areas and trail areas. − Previous feedback from Council included support for 2000’ setbacks, limitations to industrial zone districts and operational requirements and standards that will go above and beyond state requirements where feasible. − Estimated timeline: Staff will draft code in March or April then ramp up public engagement. Staff will then take a couple months to review and revise the regulations before taking the regulations before Council. The hope is Council will adopt the regulations sometime in the late summer. AIR QUALITY ADVISORY BOARD TYPE OF MEETING – REGULAR 0 2/28/22 – MINUTES Page 3 − Discussion − Questions brought up about enforcement and responsibility. Kelly stated that we have our own penalties and enforcement section in the Land Use Code and Municipal Code. The goal is to have cooperative relationships with the operators. − Per discussion about reciprocal (or reverse) setbacks, there are some areas that could be impacted by a 2000’ setback. Maps are under development to demonstrate potential impacts. − In general, members of the Board continue to support limitations on drilling in Fort Collins to the extent possible, especially due to population growth, increased housing density and more people being affected by oil and gas development. There was also support for including trails and natural areas in the setback considerations. b. EPA Monitoring Grant Application – Letter of Support − The Board discussed a potential letter of support and commitment for an EPA community monitoring grant application − The City is submitting the application, in collaboration with partners from Larimer County and CSU. It is an opportunity with EPA for a large-scale monitoring grant up to $500K. The focus is related to air toxics and ozone precursors with an emphasis on public engagement and communication, as it is a community driven grant. − Discussion − The Board emphasized the role of communication in needing to connect the dots on what we can measure to what does this mean in environmental justice. How can we support community members on a day-to-day basis in having better conversations about risks? We also need to develop relationships to have those conversations, as perception is sometimes that local and state governments are not necessarily trusted sources of information. − Recommendations on being specific and focused in the proposal and finding the appropriate audiences. Some groups have interest in the communication component, some have interest in the monitoring component, and some have interest in both. − − Letters of support are ideally due March 11thand are to demonstrate a community commitment from community partners. Not looking for individual letters currently. AIR QUALITY ADVISORY BOARD TYPE OF MEETING – REGULAR 0 2/28/22 – MINUTES Page 4 − The Board drafted a letter expressing support and commitment in the following areas for the duration of the grant performance period. o Participate on the Air Quality Monitoring Advisory Group that will be created to assist the design, planning, and performance of the project. o Advise Fort Collins City Council on development of the effective policy based on grant outcomes. o Advise on development and distribution of education and outreach materials, providing critical feedback on communication strategies based on expertise, community knowledge and insight. 7. BOARD MEMBER REPORTS • Karen attended a meeting on 1041 regulations representing the Board. She will send notes to Board members. Stated it is not an ongoing meeting but thinks they will meet again down the road after draft regulations are developed . Mark also attended a different meeting about 1041 and will compare his notes to Karen’s and send out any differences. • Greg C – There was an announcement regarding a consortium including Utah, Colorado, New Mexico, and Wyoming to facilitate hydrogen fuel production r . It is something to highlight in transportation-oriented discussions and another tool depending on formation and involvement over the next several years. • Wayne – There will be a RAQC meeting Friday March 4th to learn about a potential support letter from the RAQC for the City’s EPA grant application. 9. OTHER BUSINESS • 6-month Calendar Review • Agenda Planning − Topics for March include the Active Modes Plan, and an update on Our Climate Future 10. ADJOURNMENT The meeting was adjourned at 8:23 pm.