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HomeMy WebLinkAboutAir Quality Advisory Board - Minutes - 05/15/20231 05/15/2023 - Minutes Air Quality Advisory Board REGULAR MEETING Monday, May 15, 2023 – 5:30 PM 222 Laporte Avenue, Colorado River Room 1. CALL TO ORDER: 5:32 PM 2. ROLL CALL a. Board Members Present – • Greg Boiarsky • Wayne Chuang • Mark Houdashelt (Chair) • Gavin McMeeking • Dan Welsh b. Board Members Absent – • Greg Clark (Vice-Chair) • Sandra LeBrun c. Staff Members Present – • Cassie Archuleta, Staff Liaison • Jason Komes, Senior Specialist, Air Quality • Karen Artell, Larimer County Climate Smart and Future Ready Outreach and Engagement Representative • Emily Olivo, Air Quality Lead Specialist • Heidi O’mara, Air Quality Program Coordinator d. Guest(s) – None 3. AGENDA REVIEW a. The Board added an agenda item for Karen Artell to speak on Larimer County’s Climate Smart and Future Ready initiative. 4. CITIZEN PARTICIPATION a. None 5. APPROVAL OF MINUTES a. Mark moved and Wayne seconded a motion to approve the April minutes as amended. Motion passed unanimously 5-0. 6. UNFINISHED BUSINESS a. Oil and Gas • Cassie shared the oil and gas work session got rescheduled from June to September. There is interest from Council in operational 2 05/15/2023 - Minutes standards but there are many competing priorities, and this is not as time critical. The Board shared concern about this and is worried it will get dropped or will not have the same priority if a new Council comes in and considered expressing their concern and disappointment to Council. Cassie shared Larimer Alliance had a conversation with the Mayor and Council Member Olsen and there is going to be another meeting with Council, advocacy groups, and the State regarding compliance issues at existing sites. The Board urged to not just stop there. 7. NEW BUSINESS a. Larimer County Climate Smart and Future Ready • Karen Artell, representative for the Larimer County Climate Smart and Future Ready initiative shared information about the initiative. • Karen shared the history of the initiative, that they are now in phase three for development of the implementation plan, and currently gathering community input. • Karen also shared the four focus areas (built environment, waste, and economy; mobility of people, goods, and services; natural environment, water, agriculture; and wellbeing and resilience), the website and the different ways community members can provide feedback. • On the feedback portion of the website, the Board suggested making it clearer what is required to fill out and making it more consistent. They also commented that it seems text heavy with a lot on the screen. They also recommended making it clear what the County wants from the user; is it more informational or do they want feedback? They also suggested using basic language and making the glossary more front and center with a floating marker. The Board was also curious about the website as it jumps to a social pinpoint page rather than staying under the larimer.gov website. • The Board also had questions on what the different entities in the County would be responsible for and how the County will measure success. Karen stated some of that is still being developed. She recommended entering questions and concerns on the feedback portions of the website or emailing Heidi Pruess, Climate Smart Program Manager (970-498-7138, pruesshb@co.larimer.co.us) directly. b. Indoor Air Quality and EPA Environmental Justice (EJ) Grant • Emily Olivo, City Air Quality Specialist, and Heidi O’Mara, City Air Quality Program Coordinator, presented an update on work related to a 2-year EPA grant related to indoor air quality, energy efficiency, and resiliency in residential homes. • Emily and Heidi went over the background, mission, vision, and objectives of the grant. They are currently in the program implementation portion. They developed multiple focus groups to help reimagine the Healthy Homes (HH) program. They are prioritizing five neighborhoods. Emily and Heidi also covered the differences between the current HH program and the former HH program. • The Board suggested looking at funding opportunities through the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) and working with financial institutions. 3 05/15/2023 - Minutes The Board also suggested the possibility of the City handling loans so it can be a revolving source of funding. Emily mentioned City- managed loans can be barriers. HH is working to identify contractors that can provide direct services, and the City can pay for it through grant dollars. The City Attorney’s office is not a fan of the City managing loans. HH is working to eliminate the barriers for community members who need a new furnace; they want to be able to just do it and replace it for them. • The Board was very complimentary of the program and the work HH was doing. The Board suggested looking at mobile window-based heat pumps. The Board wondered what Healthy Homes is assessing as outcomes besides changes homeowners are implementing. Heidi stated they are still working on that because a lot of it is behavior based and being comfortable in your home. It can be difficult to monitor. They are looking to see if they can look at it from a health perspective. The Board suggested going beyond that and leaning into it being an ambassador program where it is self-sustaining and self- growing. • The Board asked about how it fits into the permit/inspection program the City is developing. Emily and Heidi stated that it is separate as this assessment is not something that can be used in a dispute. It is more about education. The overall goal of the pilot is to make sure Healthy homes is reaching who needs it most and that it is accessible and impactful. It is an education-based program, but they also want to see if they can also make more physical changes in homes. They will continue to look for funding opportunities such as other grants, leveraging relationships, or having it become an ongoing budget item with the City. They have talked about doing long term follow ups, but nothing is solidified yet. They want to ensure that both renters and owners can utilize the program. The Board suggested they come back later this year to report what they have learned. c. Indoor Air Quality Brainstorming/Discussion • The Board discussed their indoor air quality priorities, including ongoing interests and focus areas. • Some topics of interest were indoor pollutants and alternatives to eliminating these; additional monitoring collaboration; rebates for exchanging dangerous chemicals for healthier cleaners, paints, etc.; HVAC resources and education; and a library program for equipment that can be rented by different community members (like Eco-Thrift Tool library or bike share program). • The Board inquired about Air Quality (AQ) and Climate team collaboration. Cassie stated that they are working with them; however, Climate is doing more planning where AQ is doing more implementation. The Board stressed there are a lot of missing pieces and the City needs to take advantage of things like IRA or else they won’t hit their climate goals. They believe the City can do a lot for a minor investment. Cassie was going to see if they could get an update on IRA at a future meeting. • The Board asked if there was anything they could support in the next couple of months. Emily mentioned the need for a navigator who can help community members navigate the different City programs but 4 05/15/2023 - Minutes that would need support during the budget cycle. 8. BOARD MEMBER REPORT a. Mark shared there is a super issues meeting on the 22nd at 5:30 at the Lincoln Center regarding sustainable funding, Land Use Code, and affordable housing. He also shared that 1041 regulations has its second reading tomorrow. Council agreed to the staff recommendations but is still discussing if it should include activities happening outside City limits that affect resources within the City. They are doing more research on the legality of it. b. Greg B shared the Bicycle advisory Committee is supporting increased bike recreation as they want to get people thinking of bikes as more than just transportation. They are encouraging more bike areas throughout the City and multiuse paths. They are currently working on a memo. They are also working on safer routes to schools so children can get to school without buses or cars. The City has recently completed a workshop with a group in the Netherlands with communities to rethink transportation to make more bicycle friendly and ecological. c. Wayne shared that he attended a Regional Air Quality Council (RAQC) board meeting. They are still making oil and gas inventory corrections and hoping to get that report by July. They are also working on getting SIP together. They are considering phase five VOC requirements on paints and aerosols but that wouldn’t be implemented until 2027. 9. OTHER BUSINESS a. 6 – Month Calendar Review and Agenda Planning • Some upcoming topics were 1041 second reading, funding for final design of West Elizabeth corridor, Land Use Code, open burning, scooter parking, Board and Commission recommendations, oil and gas, and sustainable funding. • The Board agreed to move their June 19th meeting to June 12th due to the Holiday. • Planned Agendas for Next AQAB Meeting: • June – badges, new member introductions, climate program update, and update on IRA implementation • July – outdoor EPA grant update/community advisory group planning, legislative process update • August – O&G operational standards, ozone SIP update • Sept – CSU Smoke Ready Grant 10. ADJOURNMENT a. (8:10pm) Minutes approved by a vote of the Board on 6/12/23