Memorandum

City of Lawrence

City Manager’s Office

TO:	David L. Corliss, City Manager
FROM:	Jonathan Douglass, Assistant to the City Manager
CC:	Craig Weinaug, Douglas County Administrator
DATE:	January 27, 2009
RE:	Ozone Attainment Designation

Please place this item on the February 3, 2008, City Commission agenda.

In March 2008 the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) established 75ppb as the new standard for ozone levels. In March 2009 KDHE must submit to EPA recommendations for areas to be designated attainment and nonattainment. In March 2010 EPA will make final designations of attainment and nonattainment areas, and KDHE will have three years to produce an implementation plan outlining how ozone pollution will be reduced in the nonattainment areas to meet the new standards.

KDHE recently posted their recommended 2009 8-Hour Ozone Nonattainment Boundaries for public comment on their website (http://www.kdheks.gov/bar/air-monitor/boundary.html). It is proposed that Douglas County be designated “Unclassifiable/Attainment,” meaning that while there is no current data available for Douglas County (because there is no monitoring station), the agency extrapolates from data in surrounding areas that ozone levels in Douglas County are at acceptable levels. EPA will consider the KDHE recommendations and is expected to make their final designations of attainment and nonattainment areas by March 2010. KDHE currently recommends only that Johnson County and Wyandotte County be considered nonattainment areas in Kansas.

It is possible that KDHE could change their final recommendation following the public comment period before sending it to EPA, or that EPA will disagree with KDHE and consider Douglas County a nonattainment area. If this occurs, ozone reduction strategies will be imposed on Douglas County in future years. Potential ozone reduction strategies could include, but are not limited to, the following:

Implementation of RACT (Reasonably Achievable Control Technology) rules for industry;
Mandated sale of reduced vapor pressure gasoline blends;
Implementation of new rules for power plants;
Mandated creation of a Douglas County Air Quality Conformance Plan;
The MPO would likely have to hire consultants to do air quality modeling and conformance analyses for every update of the Metropolitan Transportation Plan, the Transportation Improvement Program, and other federally funded projects.

The Health Department’s Air Quality Advisory Committee has been studying this issue and has drafted a letter for the City and County to send jointly to KDHE supporting the current recommendation that Douglas County be considered an attainment area. City staff has made some suggested amendments to the letter, and the version staff recommends sending is attached (see letter). If the City Commission authorizes the Mayor to sign the attached letter, the County Commission will then consider authorizing the Chair to sign the same. If the City and County are not able to agree on language for the letter quickly enough to send timely public comment to KDHE, the City and County may send separate letters. For informational purposes, I have attached the following documents supporting the arguments made in the letter:

ACTION: Authorize the Mayor to sign a letter to KDHE regarding the City’s position on the KDHE recommended ozone designations.