4.3 Air Quality
Total Page:16
File Type:pdf, Size:1020Kb
4.3 Air Quality The following analysis is summarized from an air quality study prepared by Mestre Greve Associates which is contained in its entirety in Appendix D. Please refer to Appendix D for a more detailed description of study methodology and data. 4.3.1 ENVIRONMENTAL SETTING Meteorology/Climate Setting The climate in and around the project area, as with all of Southern California, is controlled largely by the strength and position of the subtropical high pressure cell over the Pacific Ocean. It maintains moderate temperatures and comfortable humidities, and limits precipitation to a few storms during the winter "wet" season. Temperatures are normally mild, excepting the summer months, which commonly bring substantially higher temperatures. In all portions of the basin, temperatures well above 100 degrees F. have been recorded in recent years. The annual average temperature in the basin is approximately 62 degrees F. Winds in the project area are usually driven by the dominant land/sea breeze circulation system. Regional wind patterns are dominated by daytime onshore sea breezes. At night the wind generally slows and reverses direction traveling towards the sea. Wind direction is altered by local canyons, with wind tending to flow parallel to the canyons. During the transition period from one wind pattern to the other, the dominant wind direction rotates into the south and causes a minor wind direction maximum from the south. The frequency of calm winds (less than 2 miles per hour) is less than 10 percent. Therefore, there is little stagnation in the project vicinity, especially during busy daytime traffic hours. Southern California frequently has temperature inversions which inhibit the dispersion of pollutants. Inversions may be either ground based or elevated. Ground based inversions, sometimes referred to as radiation inversions, are most severe during clear, cold, early winter mornings. Under conditions of a ground based inversion, very little mixing or turbulence occurs, and high concentrations of primary pollutants may occur local to major roadways. Elevated inversions can be generated by a variety of meteorological phenomena. Elevated inversions act as a lid or upper boundary and restrict vertical mixing. Below the elevated inversion dispersion is not restricted. Mixing heights for elevated inversions are lower in the summer and more persistent. This low summer inversion puts a lid over the South Coast Air Basin and is responsible for the high levels of ozone observed during summer months in the air basin. Northern Sphe re Area EIR Page 4-47 Air Quality Management The proposed project is located in the South Coast Air Basin (SCAB), which is composed of Orange County, and the non-desert portions of Los Angeles, San Bernardino and Riverside Counties. This topographically defined area is considered an airshed for pollution planning and control purposes. Key Air Quality Mandates: Two key pieces of legislation govern air pollution control efforts within the SCAB: • The Federal Clean Air Act, as amended in l990, sets national ambient air quality standards for six pollutants: ozone, carbon monoxide, nitrogen dioxide, microscopic particulates, sulfur dioxide and lead. The Clean Air Act also establishes deadlines for attaining the national standards based on the severity of pollution in each air basin. The United States Environmental Protection Agency (U.S. EPA) administers and enforces the Federal Clean Air Act. The Federal Clean Air Act requires polluted air basins to prepare attainment plans that specify control measures and schedules to expeditiously reduce pollution to meet federal standards and deadlines. • The California Clean Air Act, adopted in l988, establishes separate, more stringent state standards for the same six pollutants as well as other compounds. The California Clean Air Act requires steady progress toward state standards, but does not specify deadlines. Instead, the Act requires attainment of the state standards at the earliest practicable date. The Act also requires the state to maintain a Clean Air Plan composed of control measures, emission reduction targets, and implementation strategies capable of meeting state standards expeditiously. The California Clean Air Act considers the cost-effectiveness of control measures. Lead Agencies on Air Quality. Four key agencies insure the South Coast Air Basin’s compliance with air quality legislative mandates: • The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency oversees state compliance with the Federal Clean Air Act. It also takes the lead in implementing control measures designed to reduce air pollution from locomotives, aircraft, trucks and other vehicles and fuels used in interstate commerce. • The California Air Resources Board (CARB) is responsible for preparing and implementing California's air quality programs to comply with the Federal Clean Air Act and California Clean Air Act. CARB formulates state pollutant standards, prepares mandated state and federal pollution reduction plans, adopts emission control regulations, and coordinates the pollution control efforts of air basins throughout the state into a cohesive statewide pollution reduction effort. CARB oversees air quality planning for the SCAB, and integrates SCAB plans into statewide air plans. CARB is legislatively authorized to control stationary and Northern Sphe re Area EIR Page 4-48 mobile sources of pollution within California, and takes the lead on mobile source controls affecting vehicle engine and fuel usage. • The South Coast Air Quality Management District (SCAQMD) was formed to manage air quality programs within the SCAB. SCAQMD develops and adopts rules and regulations to meet federal and state emission reduction requirements within the SCAB. SCAQMD powers include permit authority over stationary industrial sources. SCAQMD prepares the Air Quality Management Plan (AQMP) for the SCAB. The AQMP is designed to meet all federal and state Clean Air Act requirements in a coordinated, comprehensive program of control measures and incentives. The AQMP is updated every three years to insure timely compliance with state and federal requirements. • The Southern California Association of Governments (SCAG) is the federally-designated Metropolitan Planning Organization for the six-county Southern California region. SCAG is mandated to prepare the region’s long-range transportation plan (the Regional Transportation Plan), and to insure that it conforms to emission budgets contained in the AQMP. SCAG also prepares the transportation control strategy contained in the AQMP. The Air Quality Management Plan. The Air Quality Management Plan presents the SCAB's response to federal and state requirements to reduce air pollution below the applicable standards. The AQMP is updated every three years to incorporate new or improved control measures and advances in emission control technology. The l997 AQMP, as amended in l999, is the most recent federally-approved AQMP. As such, the l997 AQMP is the appropriate basis for comparing the impacts of proposed projects. U.S. EPA approved the l997 AQMP in April, 2000. The l997 AQMP builds on and refines the previous l991 and l994 AQMPs, by eliminating unproductive control measures and adding new control measures based on the latest technology advances. The AQMP includes control measures aimed at stationary, areawide and mobile sources, that must be implemented by federal, state and local governments as well as the private sector. Short-term measures to be implemented by 2005 are based on available technology, while many long-term measures to be carried out by 2010 depend on technological breakthroughs or commercialization of emerging technologies. SCAQMD is now preparing the 2001 AQMP update for the SCAQMD Governing Board’s consideration and adoption in early 2002. The 2001 AQMP will be consistent with CARB's California Air Plan, a comprehensive long-term pollution control blueprint for the state which is now slated for adoption by CARB's Governing Board in December 2001. Building on the l997 AQMP, SCAQMD expects to replace control measures for which new technology has not yet become available or cost-effective, and add new stationary source controls. SCAG is preparing updated transportation control measures that reflect the recently adopted 2001 Regional Transportation Plan. Northern Sphe re Area EIR Page 4-49 Attainment Status. Currently, the SCAB meets the federal nitrogen dioxide, sulfur dioxide, and lead standards. However, the SCAB is deemed an "extreme" nonattainment area for ozone, with a November 15, 2010, deadline for attaining the federal standard. The l997 AQMP sets forth the control strategy for meeting emission reduction milestones necessary to meet the 2010 deadline. The SCAB also fails to meet the standard for very fine particulates less than 10 microns in diameter (PM-10), which must be met by December 31, 2006. The l997 AQMP includes the SCAB's plan for attaining PM-10 standards. The SCAB's l992 Carbon Monoxide Plan provided a federally approved strategy for attaining the federal CO standards by the Clean Air Act deadline of December 31, 2000. The l992 CO Plan was updated and incorporated into the l997 AQMP. The l997 AQMP predicted that the SCAB would achieve the federal CO standard by the December 2000 deadline, but the SCAB exceeded the federal carbon monoxide standard by a narrow margin. To date, the SCAB remains designated as a CO non-attainment area. The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has not yet acted on the expired CO attainment. SCAQMD