April 5, 2002
Other Board Action
AIR POLLUTION CONTROLS PROPOSED FOR COMPOST FACILITIES
Southland air quality officials have presented a series of options to reduce
smog- and particulate-forming pollution from the region’s compost facilities.
"Composting benefits the environment by recycling and reducing solid
waste," said Barry Wallerstein, executive officer of the South Coast Air
Quality Management District. "However, the region’s composting industry
lacks air pollution controls and is a significant source of smog-forming
volatile organic compounds.
"Each industry must do its part to help us achieve clean air," he
said. "We have identified several effective and technically feasible
pollution controls that could significantly reduce emissions from composting
facilities."
The proposal will not interfere in any way with AB 939, which requires cities
and counties to divert 50 percent of their waste from landfills by 2000,
Wallerstein added.
AQMD presented a technology assessment of pollution controls for the compost
industry to its Governing Board on Friday. The Board is scheduled to adopt the
measure, Rule 1333—Emissions from Composting and Related Operations, by this
fall.
The rule would affect about 75 industrial composting and related facilities
in the Southland, including:
- Green waste facilities that compost wood, leaves and grass;
- "Co-composting" facilities that combine green waste with sewage
sludge, livestock manure or food waste; and
- Chipping and grinding operations that process green waste for use as a
landfill cover, biomass fuel or mulch.
In addition, about 200 facilities would be exempt from the proposed rule,
including community composting sites and plant nurseries.
All composting facilities emit a total of 6.8 tons per day of volatile
organic compounds (VOCs) and 4.7 tons per day of ammonia, according to several
studies conducted by AQMD and other agencies. In comparison, all Southland oil
refineries emit a total of about 9 tons per day of VOCs.
VOCs and ammonia are produced during composting when organic materials such
as yard wastes and biosolids decompose. VOCs combine in the atmosphere with
nitrogen oxides from combustion sources to form ozone. Ozone damages deep lung
tissue and may be linked to long-term health effects. Ammonia combines with
oxides of nitrogen and sulfur oxides to form nitrate and sulfate particles, a
component of particulate pollution. Particulate pollution degrades visibility
and has been linked to increased hospital admissions and even premature deaths.
Composting facilities also can be a source of public nuisance from dust and
odors. During the last two years, AQMD and local enforcement agencies in the
area have received more than 3,000 such complaints related to compost
facilities.
Composting operations in the region typically place composting materials in
large piles or long rows, and with the exception of one facility, compost
materials are open to the air and their emissions are not controlled. Due to the
high cost of the most effective controls, AQMD is proposing that facilities
would implement the following:
- For existing co-composting facilities, registration, annual reporting and
dust controls; for large new facilities, enclosure and aeration of materials
and venting of emissions to a control system such as a biofilter; and
- For new and existing green waste facilities and chipping and grinding
operations, registration, annual reporting and dust controls.
Additional emissions controls for new and existing compost facilities could
be required in the future as cost-effective pollution control options and
funding to help pay for them are identified. For more information on the rule,
see http://www.aqmd.gov/rules/proposed/pr1133index.htm
on AQMD’s website.
In other action on Friday, the Board:
- Established a fund, with a $25,000 charter contribution from AQMD, to
establish the Natural Gas Vehicle Partnership. The partnership is the third
of eight Strategic Alliance Initiatives launched by AQMD Chairman Norma
Glover;
- Approved issuing $2 million from state funds for a Zero Emission Vehicle
Incentive Program. The program provides grants of up to $9,000 per vehicle
to individuals, public agencies, businesses or non-profit organizations that
purchase or lease zero-emission vehicles before Dec. 31, 2002;
- Executed a contract for $226,000 with the California Science Center for a
fuel cell car exhibit;
- Executed a contract for $51,680 with SunLine Transit Agency to design a
plan to convert a compressed natural gas fueling station to a hydrogen
fueling station;
- Adopted minor changes to Regulation IX—Standards of Performance for New
Stationary Sources; and
- Set public hearings for May 3 to amend Rule 1401—New Source Review of
Toxic Air Contaminants; Regulation III—Fees; and Rule 1309.1—Priority
Reserve.
AQMD is the air pollution control agency for Orange County and major portions
of Los Angeles, San Bernardino and Riverside counties.
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