P UBLIC H EARING : P ROPOSED A MENDMENTS TO R ULE 444 O PEN B URNING - PDF document

7/12/2013 P UBLIC H EARING : P ROPOSED A MENDMENTS TO R ULE 444 – O PEN B URNING Governing Board Meeting July 12, 2013 B ACKGROUND  Newport Beach request to the Coastal Commission to remove fire rings  Commission staff cited exemption in SCAQMD rules as a justification to deny request “AQMD’s Rule 445 specifically exempts beach fire rings…from its restrictions.” “…AQMD has excluded beach fire pits from its air quality control program.” “…the City is not under any order to remove their fire pits to meet any requirement of any air pollution control district.”  SCAQMD schedule driven by Coastal Commission’s hearing date pursuant to the permit streamlining act 2 1

7/12/2013 A GENCY P OSITIONS ON W OOD S MOKE  California Air Resources Board “ Wood smoke a serious threat to public health” “Aggravates lung and heart disease” “Can cause 10% increase in children's hospital admissions for respiratory symptoms”  U.S. Environmental Protection Agency “Wood smoke can affect everyone” “Children, persons with existing health conditions most vulnerable” “Health risks can be reduced by switching to gaseous fuels” 3 W OOD S MOKE • Particulates primarily in <PM2.5 size range • Source of Hazardous Air Pollutants (HAPs) Toxic Wood Cigarettes Compound Smoke Multiple PAHs,   including Benzo(a)pyrene Benzene   Formaldehyde   Ultrafine   Particles PM2.5   4 2

7/12/2013 F IRE R ING E MISSION R ATE Number of Fire rings PM2.5 Emission Rate Equivalent to one fire ring Three 2013 fleet average diesel trucks one fire ring Second hand smoke from 800 cigarettes ~ 275 fire rings Current Huntington Beach AES power plant ~ 30 fire rings Average large south coast refinery (FCCU only) ~ 17 fire rings Average of recent unplanned refinery flaring events 5 P OTENTIAL H EALTH I MPACTS o Beach Fire Rings • Approximately 765 along public coastline • High utilization, seasonal basis • Some in close proximity to residences • Other materials being burned o Coastal Air Monitoring • Fire ring wood smoke impacting beach areas and extends into communities • 1-hour average PM2.5 concentrations can exceed public health guidance levels 6 3

B ALBOA B EACH Hourly Average PM2.5 (ug/m3) 100 150 200 250 50 considerations” Unhealthy – “consider canceling public events, based on public health and travel USG = Unhealthy for Sensitive Groups 0 4/3/13 0:00 Balboa Beach PM2.5 (ug/m3) PM 2.5 H OURLY A VERAGE T IME S ERIES 4/4/13 0:00 700 Foot 4/5/13 0:00 4/6/13 0:00 Buffer 4/7/13 0:00 4/8/13 0:00 4/9/13 0:00 4/10/13 0:00 4/11/13 0:00 4/12/13 0:00 4/13/13 0:00 4/14/13 0:00 4/15/13 0:00 4/16/13 0:00 4/17/13 0:00 4/18/13 0:00 4/19/13 0:00 4/20/13 0:00 B ALBOA B EACH 4/21/13 0:00 4/22/13 0:00 4/23/13 0:00 4/24/13 0:00 4/25/13 0:00 USG 1 to 3 hour (ug/m3) 4/26/13 0:00 4/27/13 0:00 4/28/13 0:00 4/29/13 0:00 Date/Time 4/30/13 0:00 5/1/13 0:00 5/2/13 0:00 5/3/13 0:00 5/4/13 0:00 5/5/13 0:00 5/6/13 0:00 PM2.5 Monitor 5/7/13 0:00 5/8/13 0:00 5/9/13 0:00 5/10/13 0:00 5/11/13 0:00 5/12/13 0:00 5/13/13 0:00 5/14/13 0:00 Unhealthy 1 to 3 hour (ug/m3) 5/15/13 0:00 5/16/13 0:00 5/17/13 0:00 5/18/13 0:00 5/19/13 0:00 5/20/13 0:00 5/21/13 0:00 5/22/13 0:00 5/23/13 0:00 5/24/13 0:00 5/25/13 0:00 5/26/13 0:00 5/27/13 0:00 5/28/13 0:00 5/29/13 0:00 5/30/13 0:00 5/31/13 0:00 6/1/13 0:00 6/2/13 0:00 6/3/13 0:00 6/4/13 0:00 6/5/13 0:00 8 7 7/12/2013 4

7/12/2013 M AXIMUM H OURLY PM 2.5 C ONCENTRATION C OMPARISON 800 700 Maximum Hourly PM2.5 Concentration (ug/m3) 600 500 400 300 200 100 0 Station Fire July 4th, South Coast Huntington Corona del Balboa (2009) 2012 Basin Beach Mar Beach (2012) USG = Unhealthy for Sensitive Groups Unhealthy – “consider canceling public events, based on public health and travel considerations” Trash and aluminum soda cans. Huntington State Beach (3/16/13) Typical pallet and fire lighter in fire ring. Burning particle Aliso Beach Park (3/17/13) Plastic, aluminum wrap, and paper board and burnt at Bolsa Chica State Beach furniture in a fire (03/16/13). ring. Dockweiler State Beach (3/16/13). Burnt nails from pallets and construction materials. Balboa Pier (3/17/13) 10 5

7/12/2013 I NITIAL P ROPOSAL  Prohibit beach fire rings at all public beaches and coastal areas  Initial comments and suggestions  Not a significant source of pollution  Leave decision to locality  Low cost recreation  Source of revenue for beach communities  Neighbors and visitors concerned with wood smoke exposure and health effects  Consider buffer zones to reduce exposure  Consider reducing, moving or spreading out fire rings 11  Potential no-burn days R EVISED P ROPOSAL  Based on public input, revised proposal √ Allows beach fire rings with buffer zones and spacing requirements √ Strengthens local authority √ Clarifies applicability (devices only on sand, not camping areas) √ Establishes no-burn days during PM2.5 episodes • Effective date: March 2014 12 6

7/12/2013 L IKELY E FFECTS o Los Angeles County: no net change, Cabrillo Beach rings may need to be spaced o Orange County: • 90% of fire rings unaffected • Most of the 10% remaining within 700 feet can likely be retained if moved or spaced out o Impacts from local nuisance declarations unknown, but local authority strengthened o Very few coastal no-burn days anticipated (1 in past 3 years, in the winter season) 13 R EMAINING C OMMENTS  Local control – no AQMD restrictions  Prohibit all wood burning at beaches due to health impacts  Questioning basis for buffer and spacing distances  Questioning whether fire ring activity is the source of elevated PM2.5 monitoring results 14 7

7/12/2013 R ESPONSE – B UFFER AND S PACING o Buffer Size • Fire rings outside 700 foot buffer from residences can remain • 700 foot buffer based on modeling results showing 98% exposure reduction between 25 and 700 feet distance • One-hour PM2.5 concentrations above guidance levels observed beyond 700 feet o Minimum Spacing Distance (only applies within 700 feet) • Typical current spacing 40-60 feet • 100 foot spacing would reduce ring density and localized concentrations by 50-75% • 50 foot spacing allowed if small number of rings on the beach (15 or less) 15 R ESPONSE – S OURCE OF PM2.5 o Multiple analyses confirm that the short-term elevated PM2.5 levels are caused by wood smoke from the fire ring activity  Gradients  Time-of-Day  Day-of-Week  Combustion signatures  Three independent chemical wood smoke indicators  Visual and odor observations 16 8

7/12/2013 H UNTINGTON B EACH : 6/22/13 O RGANIC S OURCE MARKERS 120 100 ug/m3 80 60 PM10 40 20 0 0500 to 1700 1700 to 2300 2300 to 0500 10 Relative Ratio to 0500 to 1700 9 Vehicle Combustion 8 (Hopanes) 7 Concentration 6 Meat Grilling (Cholesterol) 5 4 3 Wood Smoke (Cellusose (Cellulose 2 Combustion - Levoglucosan 17 1 and Mannosan) 0 0500 to 1700 1700 to 2300 2300 to 0500 A DOPTION R ESOLUTION Direct SCAQMD staff : • Work cooperatively with potentially impacted jurisdictions and state parks in development of education, outreach, and alternative fuel demonstration programs pertaining to beach burning • Any future efforts addressing wood smoke exposure from the use of public fire rings be based on non-regulatory approaches, such as increased education, outreach, and voluntary use of alternative fuel devices 18 9

7/12/2013 S TAFF R ECOMMENDATIONS  Adopt resolution amending Rule 444  Authorize issuance of RFP # P2013-21 for the demonstration of alternative fueled beach fire rings 19 10