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HomeMy WebLinkAboutAir Quality Advisory Board - Minutes - 11/15/2021 AIR QUALITY ADVISORY BOARD TYPE OF MEETING – REGULAR 11/15/2021 5:30 – 8:00 pm via Zoom 11/15/21 – MINUTES Page 1 1. CALL TO ORDER 5:30pm 2. ROLL CALL • List of Board Members Present − Matt Tribby - chair − Jim Dennison − Karen Artell − Emily Bitler − Wayne Chuang − Jason Miller − Greg Clark − Dan Welsh • List of Board Members Absent – Excused or Unexcused; if no contact with Chair has been made • List of Staff Members Present − Cassie Archuleta, Staff Liaison • List of Guests 3. AGENDA REVIEW 4. PUBLIC PARTICIPATION • Lindsay Weiss - CSU student in attendance for a class assignment had no comments. 5. APPROVAL OF MINUTES a. Wayne moved and Greg seconded a motion to approve the October AQAB minutes as amended. Motion approved unanimously 8-0-0 6. PREVIOUS BUSINESS a. Budget Updates AIR QUALITY ADVISORY BOARD TYPE OF MEETING – REGULAR 11/15/21 – MINUTES Page 2 − The first Council reading of the 2022 budget was November 9. Second reading will be November 16. Included staff recommendations of $100k for air quality as discussed in October. Cassie reported that the AQAB's recommendation for this offer was sent to Council in their read-before packet. − If approved, there will be further conversations regarding grant opportunities, working with regional partners and prioritizations in the project. This offer also includes hiring one staff person to do air quality outreach and education. − Discussion − Q - Did Council have any questions about the air quality offers? A - We were prepared to discuss air quality monitoring. However, Council asked about being more aggressive on idling. 7. NEW BUSINESS a. Ozone Season Update - Wayne Chuang − In addition to being a member of the Air Quality Advisory Board, Wayne Chuang is an Air Quality Planner with the Regional air Quality Council (RAQC). He presented some historical numbers of ozone concentration readings in the front range and the latest ones from 2021 to date. − The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) set ozone attainment standards in 2008 at 75 ppb and then at 70 ppb in 2015. As ozone concentrations have remained above the standard for many years, the EPA has progressively elevated the non-attainment designation from marginal, to moderate, to serious and will reach severein the near future. − In 2021 there were 48 Action Alert days above 75 ppb in the region, and 19 days between 71 ppb and 75 ppb. − Discussion − Q - Where do we go from here? Will regulating oil and gas more and driving electric cars be enough to achieve ozone attainment in the region? A – Hard to predict, but these are tangible steps we can take towards ozone attainment. As the weather continues to get warmer due to climate change, and we have similar meteorological situations, readings could increase without more stringent regulations. − Q – What do models predict for next year? A – Dan - Conditions are too unstable to predict what will happen, but trends indicate it will remain hotter and drier in the near future. Fires also impact air quality and ozone levels, but it is not possible to predict when they will happen. The only things we can control are emissions from industry, traffic, oil and gas, etc. Wayne - AIR QUALITY ADVISORY BOARD TYPE OF MEETING – REGULAR 11/15/21 – MINUTES Page 3 regulations are difficult and take time. In the meantime, we can ask for voluntary actions to reduce air pollutants. − Q - Are the EPA and other government agencies starting to put more pressure on non-attainment regions? A - Dan - Not seeing much pressure other than the EPA increasing the non-attainment status. I think these agencies are seeing this is a bigger problem than wildfires. Wayne - more severe non-attainment levels do have more stringent regulations. − Q - Is there any health data connected to higher ozone levels? A - Cassie - There is no direct health data from local sources, standards are set using information from studies reviewed by the EPA. Wayne - the RAQC is not directly tracking this right now. There are some educational programs about taking steps to reduce ozone. The data given here is from the EPA and the Colorado Department of Health and Environment (CDPHE). Dan - will reach out to CDPHE to see if they have any ozone-related health issues. Greg - it would be interesting to see if those with Covid are considered to be in a sensitive group because of being affected by ozone for many years. − Q - Doesn't the CPDHE focus on disproportionately impacted communities? A - Wayne - Will look at some epidemiological data on health effects from air pollution done by the CDPHE. Cassie - The EPA should also have some information on this because they are discussing lowering the standards. Dan - An air quality alert day only considers the highest pollutant on a bad air quality day, not the levels other particulates, which are also probably very high and have bad health effects. − Q - Is there anything the AQAB can do to help Council be aware of how challenging ozone is to health? Will Council be kept in the loop on these types of reports? A - In 2022, staff will have a whole discussion with Council on ozone and how to better educate the community. Reducing emissions is also a conversation that will be held with Council, especially transportation and oil and gas. Wayne - The RAQC has been tasked with better educating the public and targeting the emissions from mobile sources. Karen - She anticipates funds being available from the recently passed infrastructure bill to help fund EV charging stations. b. AQAB 2021 Work Plan − The group reviewed the draft 2021 work plan presentation and recommendations to Council and fine-tuned the content of the presentation. Matt and Wayne will present this to AQAB Council liaison Pignataro on December 8. − Dan moved and Wayne seconded a motion to approve the finalized 2021 work plan presentation. Motion passed unanimously 8-0-0 AIR QUALITY ADVISORY BOARD TYPE OF MEETING – REGULAR 11/15/21 – MINUTES Page 4 c. AQAB 2022 Work Plan − The group reviewed the draft 2022 work plan, including the following focus topics: − Education opportunities on air quality/climate change topics − Oil and gas regulations − Zero-waste goal − City busing initiatives − Climate change/wildfire preparation − Anti-idling − Monitor and advise Council on Electric vehicles in the City and Community − Discussion − Busing is an important component to air quality − It would be nice to have educational materials for parents of children participating in outdoor sports on high ozone and other air quality alert days. − We need to be realistic regarding what the AQAB can and cannot accomplish in a year. We also need to be flexible on goals. − There might be more qualitative than quantitative measurements to these topics. − It might be helpful to measure how many activities the AQAB does to advance these topics during the year. − Providing metrics to Council on these programs does put a burden on the board to dig into data and may not be realistic for some subjects. Three subjects per year may be more realistic for the 2022 work plan. − Suggested picking a topic in which there is a tangible metric and follow up on it and then pick another one less tangible to advocate for. Also was suggested to build regional partnerships around these topics. − The board members agreed to go to their shared drive, review the 2022 work plan draft and share comments, additions, deletions. They will finalize and vote to approve this document at the December AQAB meeting. 8. BOARD AND STAFF MEMBER REPORTS − Cassie informed the board the City will be scheduling a Super Board meeting soon to discuss the City's recovery plan. This could be a good opportunity for the AQAB to discuss air quality issues and needs. AIR QUALITY ADVISORY BOARD TYPE OF MEETING – REGULAR 11/15/21 – MINUTES Page 5 9. OTHER BUSINESS a. 6-month Calendar Review b. Agenda Planning − December - Finalize 2022 work plan, draft 2021 annual report (due 1/31/21), give update on 2021 work plan presentation to Council liaison − December's meeting will be on the second Monday of December 13. 10. ADJOURNMENT - 8:00