The state Office of Environmental Health Hazard Assessment (OEHHA) recently updated its Air Toxics Hot Spots Program Guidance Manual for the Preparation of Risk Assessments (Risk Assessment Guidelines). These revisions are designed to provide enhanced protection of children, as required under state law, The Children’s Environmental Health Protection Act (SB 25, Escutia, 1999), and incorporate three technical support documents developed in 2008 through 2012.
Taking into consideration the comments received and the Governing Board’s directives, the District collaborated with stakeholders and updated the District risk management policy, including District Policies APR-1905 Risk Management Policy for Permitting New and Modified Sources and APR-1906 Framework for Performing Health Risk Assessments, to implement OEHHA’s Risk Assessment Guidelines.
Toxic air emissions are regulated under the District’s Integrated Air Toxic Program. This program integrates the state and federal requirements and is aimed at protecting public health. Major goals of this program are as follows:
The District has compiled emissions data for hundreds of Valley facilities. Toxic emission inventory reports that describe the quantity and nature of toxic air pollutants emitted from these facilities may be obtained by contacting the District’s Fresno office. For those Valley facilities with higher emissions levels, comprehensive health risk assessments are also available.
The Air Toxic Hot Spots Act was a law adopted by the California State Legislature in 1987. This Law required the District to compile an emissions inventory of air toxic emissions, evaluate and assess the inventory for possible health risks facilities may pose on the general public, and notify those individuals who may be exposed to health risks.
The District implementation of the Air Toxics Hot Spots Act is described here.
Although the Federal Statutes contain provisions for using existing state programs to satisfy the requirements of new Federal Standards, the language of current Federal regulations (40 CFR part 63 subpart E) is very restrictive. Under the current Subpart E regulations, existing programs that result in less stringent standards for any emissions point are not approvable. The District, the State, and affected industry are currently pursuing changes to the Federal regulations that will streamline the process of attaining equivalency for new and existing local rules, and allow for more flexibility for developing equivalent standards at the local level. However, achieving these changes will require amendments to the Subpart E regulations, which will to take time to complete. In the interim, we need to assure compliance with Federal standards so that Valley facilities in compliance with District requirements are not subject to Federal enforcement actions.
Under the current Subpart E regulations, we have four options for implementing new Federal standards.
For each Federal standard that is issued, we must choose which of these options to pursue. A detailed discussion of the advantages and disadvantages of each option, and the criteria for choosing between them, is included in this Program Description. More information regarding the implementation of Title III requirements may be obtained by contacting the Technical Services staff at the Fresno District office.
Air Toxics "Hot Spots" Information and Assessment Act (AB 2588)
The California legislature adopted AB 2588 in 1987. It requires industrial facilities in California to inventory emissions of toxic pollutants, to assess the risks from those emissions, to inform the public if risks are greater than specified levels, and to reduce risks if specific risk levels are exceeded. ARB provides guidance and tools for completing the emission inventory, prioritizing facilities for completion of risk assessments, performing risk assessments, and providing public notice at http://www.arb.ca.gov/ab2588/ab2588.htm.
Criteria and Toxic Emissions Inventory Data
ARB compiles emission inventory data from the individual air pollution control districts and air quality management districts. These data are available for individual facilities at http://www.arb.ca.gov/app/emsinv/facinfo/facinfo.php. This search page permits access to both criteria and toxic emissions data. (Criteria pollutants include particulate matter, sulfur dioxide, carbon monoxide, oxides of nitrogen, volatile organic compounds, and lead.) Toxic emissions data are available for those facilities that are subject to AB 2588.
Community Health Air Pollution Information System (CHAPIS)
The ARB developed CHAPIS to provide a geographical display of emission inventory data for the public. CHAPIS enhances the usefulness of ARB’s emission inventory by providing the data in a more intuitive, graphical manner. With CHAPIS, facilities located near particular sites can be easily identified. The emissions from those facilities provide a means of identifying sources that may be of concern to the public in a given area. CHAPIS can be accessed at http://www.arb.ca.gov/ch/chapis1/chapis1.htm.