Refinery Pilot Project Working Group

The Adopted 2003 Air Quality Management Plan (AQMP) identifies the option of adding operator flexibility to help achieve the long-term emission reduction requirements for the South Coast Air Basin (ref. Chapter 4).  Specifically, among the strategies identified by the Technical Subcommittee of the 2003 AQMP Advisory Group was the recommendation to consider adding additional flexibility for future emission reduction requirements for stationary sources.  Such flexibility would entail mitigation in lieu of complying with more costly controls under AQMD rules and regulations.  Any viable strategy will need to address Environmental Justice issues and concerns.  The following three-step process was identified which could be established to implement such a strategy:

1. Identify specific source categories and facilities or sources that would be subject to additional controls under any portion of the AQMP;
2. Identification of superior and more cost-effective strategies for one or more existing sources whose emissions occur within or otherwise impact the South Coast Air Basin; 
3. Craft regulations which would offer facilities the flexibility to select from a menu of control options to comply with their emission reduction obligations as identified in the AQMP.

The purpose of the new strategy is "to achieve emission reductions and environmental improvement in a less costly and more efficient manner and, through compliance flexibility, to minimize the economic and job-related impacts of the Plan and potentially to reduce the size of the black box in a manner sensitive to environmental justice."

To address this objective, the 2003 AQMP committed the District to undertake a collaborative multi-stakeholder process to consider whether or not to implement this approach as a pilot program for the refineries of the Basin.  Based on the results of the working group, the AQMD may consider formal development and adoption of a pilot program.  If such a  program is adopted, then upon achieving at least the equivalent reductions, the pilot program would subsume the 2003 AQMP measures which address refinery emissions, which the AQMP identified to be included under the purview of the pilot program design.  Depending on the results of the collaborative process, if such a program is implemented, refineries meeting the reduction commitments would not longer be subject to specific short-term measures or long-term strategies in the 2003 AQMP.  The implementation of this pilot program would not preclude future adjustments to the overall reduction targets established for this source category if warranted by attainment demonstrations in future State Implementation Plan revisions.

The Refinery Pilot Program Work Group  is comprised of representatives of refiners, environmental and community organizations, and AQMD staff, as set forth in the Roster.

Meetings

2005		2006
Meeting Date	Agenda	Meeting Date	Agenda
Jan		Jan 17
Feb		Feb 23
Mar		Mar 15
Apr		Apr
May		May
Jun		Jun
Jul 13 Inaugural Meeting	No Agenda was prepared. Minutes	Jul
Aug 18	Minutes
Nov 2	cancelled
Dec 2	Minutes