MCCV Working Committee Highlights Mar 08

Title	2008 PM2.5 Plan
Description	A public hearing will be held to present, discuss, and receive comments on the Proposed 2008 PM2.5 Plan. At said hearing, the Governing Board of the SJVUAPCD will consider adopting the 2008 PM2.5 Plan.
Documents	Complete PM2.5 Plan
Location	In-Person: Fresno Governing Board Room VTC: Bakersfield and Modesto
Date	April 30, 2008 (Wednesday) 9:00 AM

Location: California Environmental Protection Agency
                Air Resources Board
                Byron Sher Auditorium, Second Floor
                1001 I Street
                Sacramento, California 95814
Agenda: http://www.arb.ca.gov/board/ma/2008/ma032708.htm

EPA Strengthens Smog Standards to Better Protect Human Health and the Environment

(Washington, D.C. – March 12, 2008) EPA today met its requirements of the Clean Air Act by signing the most stringent 8-hour standard ever for ozone, revising the standards for the first time in more than a decade. The agency based the changes on the most recent scientific evidence about the effects of ozone, the primary component of smog.

"America's air is cleaner today than it was a generation ago. By meeting the requirement of the Clean Air Act and strengthening the national standard for ozone, EPA is keeping our clean air progress moving forward," said EPA Administrator Stephen L. Johnson.

The new primary 8-hour standard is 0.075 parts per million (ppm) and the new secondary standard is set at a form and level identical to the primary standard. The previous primary and secondary standards were identical 8-hour standards, set at 0.08 ppm. Because ozone is measured out to three decimal places, the standard effectively became 0.084 ppm: areas with ozone levels as high as 0.084 ppm were considered as meeting the 0.08 ppm standard, because of rounding.

In announcing the new ozone standard Administrator Johnson also announced that he will be sending Congress four principles to guide legislative changes to the Clean Air Act.

"The Clean Air Act is not a relic to be displayed in the Smithsonian, but a living document that must be modernized to continue realizing results. So while the standards I signed today may be strict, we have a responsibility to overhaul and enhance the Clean Air Act to ensure it translates from paper promises into cleaner air," Johnson concluded.

The four principles outlined by the Administrator recommend that the Clean Air Act and the National Ambient Air Quality Standards (NAAQS)

While the Administrator stated that these changes are needed to modernize the Clean Air Act, the nation will still benefit from the new standard.

The United States has made significant progress reducing ground-level ozone across the country. Since 1980, ozone levels have dropped 21 percent as EPA, states and local governments have worked together to improve the quality of the nation's air. EPA expects improvement to continue, as a result of landmark regulations such as the Clean Air Interstate Rule, to reduce emissions from power plants in the East, and the Clean Diesel Program, to reduce emissions from highway, nonroad and stationary diesel engines nationwide.

Ozone can harm people's lungs, and EPA is particularly concerned about individuals with asthma or other lung diseases, as well as those who spend a lot of time outside, such as children. Ozone exposure can aggravate asthma, resulting in increased medication use and emergency room visits, and it can increase susceptibility to respiratory infections.

Ground-level ozone is not emitted directly into the air, but forms when emissions of nitrogen oxides (NOx) and volatile organic compounds (VOCs) "cook" in the sun. Power plants, motor vehicle exhaust, industrial facilities, gasoline vapors and chemical solvents are the major human-made sources of these emissions.

EPA estimates that the final standards will yield health benefits valued between $2 billion and $19 billion. Those benefits include preventing cases of bronchitis, aggravated asthma, hospital and emergency room visits, nonfatal heart attacks and premature death, among others. EPA's Regulatory Impact analysis shows that benefits are likely greater than the cost of implementing the standards. Cost estimates range from $7.6 billion to $8.5 billion.

EPA selected the levels for the final standards after reviewing more than 1,700 peer-reviewed scientific studies about the effects of ozone on public health and welfare, and after considering advice from the agency's external scientific advisors and staff, along with public comment. EPA held five public hearings and received nearly 90,000 written comments.

As part of today's action, EPA also has updated the Air Quality Index (AQI) for ozone to reflect the change in the health standard. The AQI is EPA's color-coded tool for communicating daily air quality to the public.

More details on the revised standards: www.epa.gov/groundlevelozone/actions.html
More on the AQI and to see daily air quality forecasts www.airnow.gov

March 14, 2008 update: Statement by the U.S. EPA Press Secretary about the smog standards

· Next Regional Board Meeting
24 / 25 March 2008,
Central Valley Regional Water Board
11020 Sun Center Drive #200
Rancho Cordova, CA 95670

Wetland and Riparian Area Protection Policy
The State Water Board will consider adoption of a proposed resolution supporting the development of a statewide policy to protect wetlands and riparian areas.

This Fourth Biennial NPS Conference will showcase how sustainability and an integrated holistic watershed perspective can be incorporated into nonpoint source problem-solving steps through local, regional, and global efforts. Conference dates: May 5–7, 2008

DHS Holds Cyber Storm II Exercise to Further Cyber Security Preparedness and Response Capabilities

The U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) is conducting the largest cyber security exercise ever organized. Cyber Storm II is being held from March 10-14 in Washington, D.C. and brings together participants from federal, state and local governments, the private sector, and the international community.

Cyber Storm II is the second in a series of congressionally mandated exercises that will examine the nation’s cyber security preparedness and response capabilities. The exercise will simulate a coordinated cyber attack on information technology, communications, chemical, and transportation systems and assets.

“Securing cyberspace is vital to maintaining America’s strategic interests, public safety, and economic prosperity,” said Greg Garcia, Homeland Security Assistant Secretary for Cyber Security and Communications. “Exercises like Cyber Storm II help to ensure that the public and private sectors are prepared for an effective response to attacks against our critical systems and networks.”

Cyber Storm II will include 18 federal departments and agencies, nine states (Calif., Colo., Del., Ill., Mich., N.C., Pa., Texas and Va.), five countries (United States, Australia, Canada, New Zealand and the United Kingdom), and more than 40 private sector companies. They include ABB, Inc., Air Products, Cisco, Dow Chemical Company Inc., Harris Corporation, Juniper Networks, McAfee, Microsoft, NeuStar, PPG Industries, and Wachovia.

OSHA chief testifies on agency efforts to protect workers from combustible dust,announces OSHA initiatives
WASHINGTON -- Edwin G. Foulke Jr., assistant secretary of occupational safety and health, testified on Capitol Hill today to discuss the Occupational Safety and Health Administration's (OSHA) efforts to protect workers from combustible dust hazards and investigate the cause of the Feb. 7 explosion at Imperial Sugar Refinery in Savannah, Ga.

"OSHA is intensifying its ongoing enforcement, education and outreach programs to ensure that employers and workers are doing everything they are supposed to be doing to protect against combustible dust,” Foulke told the House Education and Labor Committee.

Foulke also announced several initiatives that OSHA has undertaken to improve its enforcement and outreach. Employers and employees are urged to review a new Occupational Safety and Health Administration fact sheet titled Hazard Alert: Combustible Dust Explosions, which is available online at www.osha.gov/OshDoc/data_General_Facts/OSHAcombustibledust.pdf. The fact sheet provides a descriptive overview of combustible dust hazards and offers suggestions for eliminating these hazards.

Foulke has issued a memorandum to OSHA's state plan administrators urging state-run occupational safety and health agencies to join OSHA in its focus on combustible dust hazards. He has ordered OSHA to refine and expand the combustible dust National Emphasis Program that was announced in October 2007 to focus on facilities most likely to experience catastrophic dust explosions. That directive is available online at www.osha.gov/pls/oshaweb/owadisp.show_document?p_table=DIRECTIVES&p_id=3830. Foulke also stated that the agency's Harwood training grant program will include combustible dust as a training topic for grant solicitations for fiscal year 2009.

Additionally, on March 10, OSHA provided a two-hour refresher training on the subject to 700 compliance officers. Foulke also has ordered his staff to prepare guidance for stakeholders to improve hazard communication related to combustible dust.

Under the Occupational Safety and Health Act of 1970, employers are responsible for providing a safe and healthy workplace for their employees. OSHA's role is to promote the safety and health of America's working men and women by setting and enforcing standards; providing training, outreach, and education; establishing partnerships; and encouraging continual process improvement in workplace safety and health. For more information, visit www.osha.gov.

Occupational Safety and Health Standards Board - Public meeting/public hearing/business meeting - Third Thursday every month