SAN JOAQUIN VALLEY UNIFIED AIR POLLUTION CONTROL DISTRICT

FINAL STAFF REPORT

October 8, 2009

Amendments to Rule 4692 (Commercial Charbroiling)

Prepared by: Sandra Lowe-Leset h, Air Quality Engineer

Reviewed by: Renald Harris, Air Qu ality Engineer, Permit Services Kathi Crump, Air Quality Inspector, Compliance Stephanie Hitchman, Senior Air Quality Specialist, Emission Reduction Incentives Program Joven Nazareno, Senior Air Quality Engineer George Heinen, Supervising Air Quality Engineer Errol Villegas, Program Manager, Planning Department

I. SUMMARY

The San Joaquin Valley Air Basin has been designated by the United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) as a non-attainment area for particulate matter with aerodynamic diameter of 2.5 micrometers or less (PM2.5). Commercial cooking operations using charbroilers have been identified as a pot ential source for reducing these emissions and helping the District r each attainment. The proposed amendments

would increase the number of chain-driven charbroilers th at would be subject to the

rule. Estimated emission reductions from rule amendments to Rule 4692 are about 6.4 tons per year of directly-emitted PM2.5.

A. Reason for Rule Development Project

District staff amended Rule 4692 to implem ent an emission control measure in the

District’s 2008 PM2.5 Plan . The main objective of this rule project was to obtain as much reduction of particulate matter (PM) from commercial charbroiling as is expeditiously practicable, technologically feasible, and economically reasonable. As guidelines for developing the pr oposed changes to Rule 4692, District staff investigated available technologies and reviewed Ba y Area Air Quality Management District (BAAQMD) Regulation 6 Rule 2 (Commercial Cooking Equipment) and South Coast Air Quality Management District (SCAQMD) Rule 1138 (Control of Emissions from Restaurant Operations) as well as rules and r egulations in other air districts inside and

outside of California.

This rule project was a direct result of a control measure in the District’s PM2.5 Plan. As such, it was meant to limit directly em itted PM2.5; however EPA has not approved a test method for stack testing specifically for PM2.5. Without an offi cial test method, it

would be difficult to determine a suitable PM2.5 emission limit for this source category.

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Final Staff Report: Rule 4692 (Commercial Charbro iling) October 8, 2009

Rule 4692 limits particulate matter with aerody namic diameter of 10 micrometers or less (PM10) emissions, although the rule considers total particulates collected during testing as PM10. For purposes of this rule proj ect, District staff equat ed control of PM10 with control of PM2.5, m eaning that if PM10 emi ssions are controlled, PM2.5 are controlled by the same proportion as the PM10 emissions.

B. Rule Development Process

District staff presented proposed amendments to the Governing Board on June 18, 2009, after three rounds of public wor kshops commencing in October 2008. Throughout the rule development process, District staff solicit ed information from affected source operators, vendors and manufac turers of control equipment, and trade associations on the technological and economic feasibility of the proposed rule amendments. Although District staff sent over 6,000 workshop notices to restaurant operators throughout the Valley, participation in the workshops was extremely limited. Throughout the rule development process, Distr ict staff drafted rule requirements based

on the best information available and Distric t staff addressed all issues raised by workshop participants.

On June 18, 2009, the Governing Board received public testimony and considered adopting amendments to Rule 4692. In respons e to operator comments received at the June hearing, the Governing Bo ard directed staff to meet with operators of under-fired charbroilers and other interested parties to address operators’ concerns. After meeting with control technology vendors and operators, District staff recommends significant changes to the June 18, 2009 version of the rule.

The changes reflected new information received as a result of the post-public hearing meetings. New estimates fo r capital costs for under-fired charbroilers range from $37,500 to $104,000. Annualizing that co st over 10 years and adding the annual operation and maintenance cost means t hat these businesses would spend between $10,000 and $27,000 per year to c ontrol PM2.5 emissions. For most restaurants, this is more than 10% of their net prof it, which the District consider s a significant impact. The new estimates for cost effectiveness (which re flects the unit price of reducing pollution) for under-fired charbroilers ranges from $22,300 to $58,200 per ton PM2.5 reduced, which is also considered significantly high for a PM2.5 control measure.

District staff, therefore, re commended that under-fired charbr oilers not be addressed by Rule 4692 control requirements at this time , and that staff be authorized to develop a program to provide incentiv es to operators who proactively control emissions from under-fired charbroilers. Although not recommendi ng specific control limits at this time, District staff will re-evaluate the potential fo r emission reductions from this source category in the future as the District plans for attainment of new air quality standards, specifically the most recent PM2.5 national ambient air quality standard. District staff will also monitor the implement ation of rules affecting unde r-fired charbroilers in Bay Area Air Quality Management District (BAAQMD) and South Coast Air Quality

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Final Staff Report: Rule 4692 (Commercial Charbro iling) October 8, 2009

Management District (SCAQMD). The District will perform a comprehensive assessment benefitting from new and expanded information as these new controls are employed. A report on this assessmen t, including a recommendation on the need and feasibility for further rulemaking concerni ng under-fired charbroilers will be presented to the Governing Board in t he first quarter of 2011.

II. BACKGROUND

A. Current Rule 4692 (Commercial Charbroiling)

Rule 4692 applies to owners and operators of commercial cooking operations (meaning restaurants) using chain-driven charbroilers to cook beef, lamb, pork, poultry, fish, and seafood. The rule applies to operators w ho cook more than 875 pounds of meat per

week on a chain-driven charbroiler and emit more than one pound per day of any criteria pollutant. The current rule limit s emission of VOC and particulate matter with aerodynamic diameter of 10 micr ometers or less (PM10). T he rule requires that chaindriven charbroilers be equipped and operated with a certified catalytic oxidizer control device and maintained in good working order to minimize visible emissions to the atmosphere. For detailed requ irements, please refer to cu rrent Rule 4692, which is

available on the District’s website at www.valleyair.org

.

B. Affected Source Category

Charbroilers have the highest input ra te and production capacity among broiler categories. A chain-driven charbroiler is a semi-enclosed broiler designed to move food mechanically on a grated grill through the dev ice as the food cooks. Food cooks quickly, because chain-driv en charbroilers have burners located both above and below the grill. Chain-driven charbroilers ar e most common in fast food restaurants.

While chain-driven charbroilers use a convey or system to ensure t hat meat is cooked for a specific amount of time, under-fired ch arbroilers employ a metal "grid", a heavyduty grill like that of a home barbecue. The grid commonly reaches temperatures of over 600°F and conducts a significant amount of heat to the food. Below the grid, gas broilers have a set of burners spaced every f our to twelve inches along the width of the broiler. The flames are diffused by a bed of rock, ceramic briquettes, or a metal shield ("radiant") just above the burners. This material between the flame and the food converts some of the flame's energy to r adiant heat. Electric charbroilers may have heating elements interwoven with the bars of the grid, or the elements may be sheathed inside the grid itself, in wh ich case, heat transfer is almost entirely by conduction. As food cooks on an under-fired broiler, fat drippi ngs burn on the hot elements, coals, or

radiants to create the charbr oiler's characteristic flame and smoke. Un-incinerated drippings are collected in a grease tray.

The smoke and vapors generated by cooking on eit her type of charbroiler contain water, volatile organic compounds (VOCs), and PM. Larger particles and grease are typically

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Final Staff Report: Rule 4692 (Commercial Charbro iling) October 8, 2009

captured by the grease filter of the ventilation hood over the charbroiler. The remaining VOCs and smaller PM (typically PM10 and sm aller) are exhausted to the atmosphere, unless a secondary control is installed.

In developing the proposed changes to Rule 4692, District staff investigated available technologies and reviewed BAAQMD Regulat ion 6 Rule 2 (Commercial Cooking Equipment) and SCAQMD Rule 1138 (Cont rol of Emissions from Restaurant Operations) as well as rules and regulations in other agencies inside and outside of California. Stakeholders and control equipment vendors were also consulted as part of the District’s public rule development process.

C. Health Impacts

As was the case with domestic wood burni ng, emissions from charbroiling are increasingly understood to pose a threat to public health. Charbroiling contributes a significant fraction of PM2.5 found in urban areas. In a Los Angeles study, estimated emissions of charbroiling r anged from 4,400 to 4,900 kg/day vs. 1,400 kg/day for meat frying. The authors estimated that approxim ately 21% of all fine organic carbon (OC) particulates in the region originated with meat frying or charbroiling. 1 A subsequent Central Region Particulate Air Quality St udy (CRAPQS) study conducted in Fresno estimated that meat cooking contributed 6 to 14% of organic carbon aerosol found in the city. 2 The same study found that charbroiled hamburger resulted in up to 40 g per kg of fine aerosol emissions vs. 7 g per kg for extra lean meat.

In addition to emission quantificat ion, environmental health re search has helped bring to focus the quality of charbroiling emissions and their attendant health hazards. Organic substances containing car bon and hydrogen produce polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) during incomplete combustion (pyr olysis). The process of charbroiling, characterized by fat falling on either flame or charcoal, results in tw o to five times higher emissions of PAH by mass when compared wit h frying, an increase that is comparable to the greater overall PM2.5 emissions generated by charbroiling cited in the previous paragraph. 3 In addition to having carcinogeni c properties, these organic chemicals have been shown to promote oxi dative stress in the lungs, resulting in altered lung function and capacity. For example, scientific evidence of suppressed lung function in Fresno asthmatics resulting from inhaled PAH (chrysenequinone) was presented by Tim Tyner of the University of California San Fr ancisco to the District’s Governing Board at the June 18, 2009 Board meeting.

The low wind speeds and chronic evening thermal inversions that characterize the San Joaquin Valley have the additional effect of limiting dispersion of emissions from commercial charbroiling. As with domes tic wood burning, this potential for

1 See Hildemann et al. (1991) Environmental Science and Technology , Vol. 25, pp. 744-751.

2 See Schauer and Cass (2000) Environmental Science and Technology , Vol. 34 (9), pp. 1821-1832.

3 See Rogge et al. (1991) Environmental Science and Technology , Vol. 25, pp. 1112-1125.

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neighborhood-level concentration of emissions during evening or multi-day stagnation events raises environmental justice concerns, e.g. residential areas that border shopping centers where restaurants are loca ted. To conclude, there is ample environmental health justification to begin t he process of reducing public exposure to charbroiling emissions via the proposed incent ive program. Past experience has shown that this inducement of demand will accelerate the development and cost-effectiveness of technological control options.

III. PROPOSED CHANGES TO RULE 4692

In December 2007, BAAQMD adopted a rule that controlled emissions from both chaindriven and under-fired charbroilers. T he amendments to District Rule 4692 incorporated many of the c oncepts from the BAAQMD rule as they apply to chain-driven

charbroilers. The minimum meat cooked fo r a charbroiler to be subject to control requirements would be reduced by more than 50%. This means that more chain-driven charbroilers would be subject to the rule ’s control requirements. The following paragraphs outline the specifics of the revised propos ed amendments.

A. Section 2. 0 Applicability

No change (from the adopted rule) is proposed fo r the applicability section of the rule. The rule would apply only to chain-driven charbroilers.

The limited data on historical us e of the particulate controls for under-fired charbroilers raise questions concerning the reliability and effectiveness of these devices. Although not addressing control limits at this time, Dis trict staff will re-evaluate the potential for

emission reductions from under-fired charbroilers in the future as the District considers attainment of new air qualit y standards, specifically the most recent PM2.5 national ambient air quality standard. The newly- adopted federal health-based standard for

PM2.5 will also mandate that the District adopt a new a ttainment plan in 2012, calling for additional reductions in directly-emitted PM2.5. District staff will also monitor the implementation of rules affecting under-fired charbroilers in BAAQMD and SCAQMD.

B. Section 3.0 Definitions

The definitions of existing chain-driven charbroiler and ne w chain-driven charbroiler have been removed, since it is past the comp liance date for both ty pes and the overall control requirements are the same for both new and existing chain-driven charbroilers.

The definition for PM10 has been expanded to note that all particulate collected during testing would be considered PM10 for purposes of this rule. Section 3.0 has been renumbered to reflect the proposed changes.

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Final Staff Report: Rule 4692 (Commercial Charbro iling) October 8, 2009

C. Section 4.0 Exemptions

The purpose of the exemption section is to refi ne the rule applicability. This rule project modifies the exemption section to assure that the rule applies to commercial cooking operations (for example restaur ants and cafes) that cook a ce rtain amount of meat. The current rule allows owner/operators who c ook less than a certai n amount of meat on their chain-driven units to be exempt from control require ments, although the owner/operators must demonstr ate that they are exempt through weekly recordkeeping. For chain-driven units, the amend ments reduce the quant ity allowed for the exemption by more than 50% - from 875 pounds per week to 400 pounds per week. This mirrors BAAQMD’s recently-adopted rule.

The current rule has an exemption for low- emitting chain-driven charbroilers. The purpose of this exemption is to acknowl edge that some owners/operators may choose to invest in clean technology. The exemptio n allows the use of these cleaner units as long as the owner/operator main tains certain records.

Other Exemption Considerations

The BAAQMD charbroiler rule has a limited ex emption from control requirements based amount of meat purchas ed. District staff reviewed the exemption and found that there is a certain amount of ambiguity in terms of enforceability betw een the meat-purchased and the meat-cooked exemptions. In certain circumstances, it would be unclear to a compliance inspector which exemption the operator’s records are supporting. To reduce any confusion, District staff has elected to not include a meat-purchased exemption because it is the cooking of m eat that causes emissions, not purchasing

meat.

District staff evaluated whether to count r eheated or pre-cooked m eat as part of the exemption determination. In itial thoughts were t hat the heating/re- heating of alreadycooked food does not generate as much emissi ons as cooking from raw and therefore, the heating/re-heating should not be counted in the exemptio n determination. However, no emission factor was found for this type of cooking. Demonstrating that the charbroiler is exempt could be problematic if the owner/operator had to separate out pre-cooked meat. For exam ple, owner/operators would have to also keep records tracking the amount of precooked meat purc hased in addition to the amount of meat cooked on the grill District staff recommends that pre-cooked food should be included in the limited use exemption count in order to minimize emissions, since even reheating

would have some level of emissions.

During the October 2008 workshop, one stak eholder commented that for one special event, their restaurant serves significantly mo re customers than at any other time during the year. In order to accommodate this concern, District staff has included an annual

meat-cooked limit for chain-dr iven charbroilers. The annual amount is the weekly exemption multiplied by 52 weeks, then di vided by two. In determining the annual quantity, District staff wanted to be sure that excursions above the weekly “normal

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operations” limit did not raise the overall amount of meat c ooked to remain exempt. The limit is based on a rolling twelve-month peri od so that quantity of meat-cooked can be fairly evaluated. An annual amount bas ed on a calendar year would mean that all

restaurants would be allowed t he exemption until such time that the amou nt of meat

cooked went above the annual amount. This was not the intent of exemption. In the case of a rolling 12-month basis, the amount of meat cooked is reviewed over the past twelve months, and reflects a longer evaluat ion time. For this reason District staff proposed that the basis for the exempt ion be a rolling twelve-month period.

Proposed Exemptions Section Compar ed to the April 2009 Draft Rule

Exemptions for lower-use under-fired charbro ilers have been removed, as they are no longer needed for the rule. Also, the require ment for loss of exemption has been moved to Section 7.0 (Compliance Sc hedule) for reader clarity.

D. Section 5.0 Requirements

Section 5.0 is a compilation of emission limits and work practices required to control emissions from the source operation. Under the current rule, chain-driven charbroilers must have a catalytic oxidizer certified by South Coast Air Quality Management District (SCAQMD). This would change slightly under the proposed amendment s. District staff proposed that the control efficiency requirem ents used by SCAQMD be included in the rule. The addition aids understanding by operator s of rule requirements by putting all of

the needed information in the rule.

The amendments reference a percent cont rol, which is different from BAAQMD Regulation 6 Rule 2. Using the percent control required by SCAQMD and BAAQMD’s

uncontrolled emission factor for chain-driven charbroilers yi elds the emission limit used in BAAQMD Regulation 6 Rule 2. The District and BAAQMD use different emission

factors for uncontrolled emission s. Rather than debate which emission factor is “right”, District staff uses the required percent c ontrol called for by SC AQMD certification protocol. The percent control represents t he actual technology limit for these units.

SCAQMD has certified chain-driven charbroilers for some years. The models that were certified prior to January 1, 2011 would be considered compliant with the new rule limits. This allows operators to select from the current SCAQMD-certified units to comply with the rule provisions.

Operators are allowed to use control devices other than catalytic oxidizers in the current rule. This would be highlighted by placing this option in a separate se ction. If operators elect an alternative control device, the alte rnative control device would be required to

meet the same emission control efficien cy limits imposed on catalytic oxidizers.

Based on changes to the exempti on limit for chain-driven c harbroilers, there would be existing chain-driven units that are currently exempt from the control requirements of this rule that become subject to control r equirements due to loss of exemption. To

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minimize ambiguity in compliance, operat ors would be required to comply with the proposed amendments on and after January 1, 2011, which is the same day as the proposed change in exemption level. Units t hat lose their exemption for meat-cooked would be subject to a single c ontrol level and the dates coincide to minimize confusion or compliance ambiguity.

Section 5.3 currently requires that cata lytic oxidizers be operated and maintained per manufacturer’s instructions. Language in this section would be modified to include all control devices, not just catalytic oxidizers. The expansion is necessary to be sure that control devices other than catalytic oxidiz ers are operated and maintained so that emissions from charbroiling are actually redu ced in practice and not just theoretically.

Proposed Requirements Section Compar ed to the April 2009 Draft Rule

There are three differences in Section 5. 0 of the adopted rule compared to the April

2009 version of the rule. The first differ ence is that all references to under-fired charbroilers have been removed. Second, as noted below, the proposed compliance

date for chain-driven units has been extend ed from July 1, 2010 in the April 2009 version of the rule to January 1, 2011 in the adopted rule. This does not affect units that are already subject to the rule since t he proposed changes only make explicit the requirements of a SCAQMD-certified chai n-driven charbroiler. The change in implementation date allows operat ors new to the control requirements additional time to

install control devices. The third difference is that the certification section has been moved to Section 6.0 – Administrative Requir ements. District staf f has re-evaluated the rule language and determined that the certif ication requirement is more like an administrative requirement rat her than an emission limit or a work practice, therefore,

the section was moved to Sect ion 6.0 for rule clarity.

E. Section 6.0 Administrative Requirements

Section 6.0 (Recordkeeping and Test Meth ods) has been re-titl ed “Administrative Requirements.” The change more clearly refl ects the purpose of Section 6.0. The section has been expanded to clarify record s needed, test protocols to be used, and control device registration, as well as details of the control device certification process.

Required Records

The records required are grouped by the type of charbroiler for clarity. The records requirement for exempt units would be separ ated from the records for chain-driven

charbroilers. The section would be re-arran ged to put exempt units first, since the exemptions appear before the control requirements in the rule.

For exempt units, required reco rds reflect those items necessary to show that the unit meets the terms of the exemption – week ly records of meat cooked and, for lowemitting units, test results with the maximum meat cooked calculations. For chaindriven units subject to the control efficiency limit of Section 5.0, records reflect those

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items needed to show compliance with the requirements, generally meaning records showing that the control device is being main tained. Weekly records of meat cooked would also be required.

Alternative Records

Owners/operators can keep records different ly than specified, if both EPA and the District agree in writing. This allows operat ors the flexibility to re cord information in a way that is appropriate for their particular circumstances without compromising their ability to demonstrate compliance with rule provisions.

Certification of Control Devices

A section has been added to Section 6.0 to out line the basic steps for control device

certification. There are three main st eps for manufacturers or owners to obtain certification of their units. Testing would be done at an independent lab and the resultant control efficiency would be equal to or greater than the applicable control efficiency limit in order to be considered for certification. Manufacturers/owners would be required to obtain written certificati on of the system from the District.

Test Methods

The test methods section has been expanded to include a calculation for percent control efficiency for rule clarity. Because t he amendments have a percent control as the emission limit, the equation is necessary so that consistency between operators is

maintained.

Control Device Performance Criteria

Section 6.6 details the minimum control efficiencies for chain-driven charbroilers. Since it is expected that manufacturers would per form the testing and apply for certification, the control efficiency limits are placed near the test methods and the certification procedure.

Certification Details

The last part of Section 6.0 lists the particu lars for the certification application. The procedure echoes the BAAQMD rule for charbr oilers. If a unit has been certified in SCAQMD, the person seeking District certific ation does not need to re-test the units in

order to obtain District certification. All that needs to be submitted is the appropriate paperwork showing that the unit has been test ed appropriately and the unit has met the control efficiency limits of Section 6.6 of District Rule 4692. Since the District and SCAQMD have similar requirement s, it would be overly-duplicative to require that the unit be tested separately for each air district’s certification.

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Proposed Administrative Requir ements Section Compared to the April 2009 Draft Rule

Compared to the April 2009 draft version of the rule, all administrative and testing requirements for under-fired charbroilers hav e been removed from Section 6.0. Also, the order in which the each type of char broiler appears has been rearranged. Records required for exempt units are followed by reco rds required for chain-driven charbroilers. The proposed order reflects the order in wh ich the units appear in the rule. New to Section 6.0 is the certification procedure. This procedure had been part of Section 5.0 in the April version of the rule.

F. Compliance Schedule

This section outlines the dates by whic h the operators must meet the applicable requirements. This section was added since the April draft of the rule, however, the purpose of this section is to consolidate co mpliance schedules into a single section for improved reader understanding.

Chain-driven charbroilers are required to comply with the control requirements of the rule by January 1, 2011. The compliance schedule was changed fr om the April 2009 draft of the rule, which had a July 1, 2010 deadline for compliance. The change is in response to the continued concerns about the ability of business owners to obtain loans as well as the projection of a poor economic outlook for the balance of 2009 and into 2010. Many consumers consider eating at restaurants an ex pense that can be foregone, so restaurant businesses could be directly impacted by reduced consumer spending.

If a chain-driven charbroiler lo ses its exempt status after the compliance date in Section 7.1, the operator would be responsible for br inging the unit into compliance with all rule requirements when the charbroiler is operated after the exemption is lost.

IV. AVAILABLE CONTROL TECHNOLOGIES

The smoke and vapors generated by cooking on a charbroiler contain water, VOCs and PM. Larger particles and grease are typically captured by the gr ease filter of the

ventilation hood over the broiler. The rema ining VOCs and smaller PM (typically PM10 and smaller) are exhausted to the atmosphere, unless a sec ondary control is installed.

A. Chain-Driven Charbroiler Control Technology

The flameless catalytic oxidizer consists of a layer of catalyst spread over a support structure. The supported catalyst is housed in a metal canister that is attached to the

charbroiler. The exhaust fr om the cooking process goes through the heated catalyst. The catalyst promotes the ox idation of PM and VOC to ca rbon dioxide and water vapor. The energy released by the reaction heats t he catalyst and is transferred to the heat recovery system - no additional fuel is needed for this unit. Catalytic oxidizers are ideal

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for chain-driven charbroilers because the ex haust of charbroiler can be directed through

the control device with little lo ss of temperature. In fact, the reactions at the catalyst surface only take place at high temperature. The exhaust from under-fired charbroilers, on the other hand, loses much of its heat before it can be directed to a control device; therefore, the reaction s at the catalyst surface cannot ta ke place because the exhaust is not hot enough. For this reason, other control strategies ar e more effective for underfired charbroilers.

B. Under-Fired Charbroiler Control Technology

The following control technologies may be suitable for under-fired charbroilers:

• High efficiency particulate-arre sting (HEPA) filtration systems

• Electrostatic precipitators (ESPs)

• Wet scrubbers

Control equipment vendors repor t that, nationwide, at l east 400 HEPA filter systems and nearly that number of ESPs are already in use. The vendor reports indicate that at least 70 control units may have been installed in Ca lifornia, mostly in the Los Angeles and San Francisco areas. One vendor has provided t he District with a list of facilities having purchased their device. The other vendors were unwilling or unable to provide a similar

list. The District has been unable to receiv e any information from the owners/operators to verify vendor claims or asse ss long-term equipment reliability.

Building codes normally require a primary gr ease filter above most cooking appliances. A HEPA filtration system takes that severa l steps further. Behind the primary grease filter is a secondary grease filter to catch th e air stream’s remainin g grease. This is followed by a second filter to remove the lar ger particles. The thir d and final filter is a HEPA filter, which effectively eliminates particulates down to about 0.3 microns. Depending on a restaurant’s particular mix of cooking, instead of a single secondary grease filter, there may be two or more to remove enough par ticulate before the HEPA

filter to make the filter change-out schedule reasonable fo r the restaurant operator. According to vendors, maintenan ce of a filtration system is relatively easy for restaurant personnel to perform, however, depending on the amount of particulate, weekly changing of one or more f ilters may be necessary.

ESPs’ primary use has been in industrial settings to remove fine dust and smoke. In the restaurant setting, ESPs are often used to remove smoke and odors when commercial kitchen exhaust is discharged at street level ra ther than at roof leve l. An ESP works by passing the air first through an electrically charged screen that gives a charge to the particles, creating ionized particles. T he ionized particles then pass between two oppositely-charged plates where the ionized parti cles are attracted to one surface or the

other. ESPs work best on fine particulate, so an ESP system would have one or more filters prior to the ESP itself to remove grease and larger par ticles from kitchen exhaust. The ESP system usually has a clean-in-place syst em that washes the plates while they

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are in the ESP cabinet, usually in the early morning when the restaurant is closed. Then, once or twice a year, the plates ar e removed for a more thorough cleaning. Because the plates can weigh as mu ch as 75 pounds, operators with ESPs often choose to hire outside companies to perform the routine maintenance.

With wet scrubbers, a fine st ream of a water and detergent “washes” the particulates

from the kitchen exhaust. The particulate/water/detergent mi x is filtered and the filtered water/detergent mix is recycled through to cl ean more kitchen exhaust. The particulateladen wash water is discharged to the sewe r system. The water/sewer usage and the cost of detergent can be the most challeng ing aspect of wet scrubbers, although recent improvements in design have overcome many of the inefficiencies of older units.

While control vendors have been helpful in understanding the control systems’ technology, they have not been able to provide t he District with several critical pieces of information. Despite repeated attempts by the District, owners and operators have shown a great deal of reluctance to provide in formation. Some of this reluctance may be due to the unavailability of information given the relative short time that these units have been in operation.

These controls appear promising. However, in light of the new information that we have received and given the high cost of these controls for under-fir ed charbroilers, the

District staff cannot recommend these controls for the rule at this time. Reliable and

verifiable information and more careful ex amination are needed to judge these systems’ reliability in the field. Am ong the outstanding issues concerning the control units being reported to be installed by the vendors are:

• Whether an under-fired charbroiler is included in the kitchen appliances for facilities that vendors report as having t hese controls (some of these controls appear to be only serving fryers);

• The type of meat being charbroiled;

• The actual amount of charbroiling done;

• The length of time the c ontrol system has been in use;

• The size of the control system;

• The costs and labor involved in rout ine operating and maintenance based on actual experience of the operators; and

• Actual field data on control system reliability such as maintenance frequency, control efficiency, and frequency of equipment breakdown.

District staff will conduct extensive res earch and data-gathering to answer these questions and report to the Governing Board during the first quarter of 2011. This report will also include an assessment and recommendation concerning the need for and feasibility of further rulema king for under-fired charbroilers.

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V. POTENTIAL INCENTIVE FUNDIN G FOR UNDER-FIRED CHARBROILERS

In place of regulatory control, the District is considering ma king available incentive funds in the form of grants for the purpose of installing particula te control devices on existing under-fired charbroilers. The US EPA recogn izes that there are circumstances when

additional emission reductions can be better achieved through economic incentives. This is especially true in cases like this where control technology is expensive and is being newly applied to source s under consideration.

The District proposes to design a charbroiler incentive program that achieves maximum,

cost-effective emissions reductions. In this program, the District would not specify the control technology to be used, but, rather, would provide an ince ntive level based on cost-effectiveness while allowing the operator to determine the best control technology for his/her operation. The le vel of incentive funding would depend on several factors, including the amount of meat being cooked, the project life, and cost-effectiveness of

those reductions. The District would enter into legally binding agreements with interested operators to ensure t hat the emissions reductions occur over the life of the project. To make certain that the pr edicted emission reductions are achieved, the District would employ a variety of methods, in cluding, but not limited to, project audits, inspections, and annual reporting.

It is estimated that funding for each operatio n will range from approx imately $20,000 to $80,000, depending on the size of the operat ion and amount of meat cooked. On average, this would fund approximately 60% to 90% of the capital cost, including equipment and installati on, depending on the specific control-technology selected by the operator. The operator will be responsible for ongoing operational and maintenance costs. Although high ongoing op erating costs may discourage some from participating in the incentive program, it is hoped that a number of operators would choose to participate given the rules in other areas and the likelihood t hat the District will need

additional reductions in the future. To gauge interest and need for funding, the staff recommends a pilot program for up to 10 uni ts operating over the next 12 months.

The district proposes to allocate up to $500,000 for this pilot program through a competitive solicitation. It is anticipated that funding for the program will come from Indirect Source Review (ISR) fees gener ated by the District. Consequently, the program cost-effectiveness thre sholds and will be established pursuant to the applicable

cost-effectiveness limits in the ISR program.

VI. BASELINE EMISSION INVENTORY AND EMISSION REDUCTIONS

Because very few restaurants hold a District Permit-to-Operate, Dis trict staff cannot

determine the number of restaur ants and by extension, the baseline emission inventory for this source category. Equally, the number of restaurants affect ed by amendments to

the rule is not information available from in ternal District documents. Using multiple information sources, District staff estimated the baseline PM2.5 emission inventory for

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this source category and the emission reducti ons associated with t he rule amendments. Directly-emitted PM2.5 emissions are esti mated to go down by about 0.018 tons per day or about a 24% reduction of baseline emissi ons for under-fired charbroilers. Details of the calculation are in Append ix B of this staff report

VII. COSTS AND COST EF FECTIVENESS ANALYSIS

Under the California Health and Safety Code, the District is required to perform a cost effectiveness analysis of available emission cont rol options prior to adopting each Best Available Retrofit Control Technology (BARCT ) rule. Absolute cost effectiveness of a control option is the added annual cost, in do llars per year ($/year), of a control technology or technique, divided by the emis sion reduction achieved, in tons reduced per year. The costs include capital equipment costs, engineering design costs, labor

and maintenance costs. Cost effectiveness for c hain-driven charbroilers is estimated at $19,900 per ton PM2.5 reduced.

VIII. SOCIOECONOMIC IMPACT ANALYSIS

Pursuant to state law, District staff is required to perform a socioeconomic impact analysis prior to adoption, amendment, or repeal of a rule that has significant air quality

benefits or that will st rengthen emission limitations. As part of the District’s socioeconomic analysis process, District staff met with representatives from interested groups during the Socioeconomic Focus Group. The Focus Gr oup assisted District staff in determining the appropriate method for gathering information on regulatory compliance costs and business impacts result ing from compliance with the rule. The Socioeconomic Focus Group met in February 2009. The results of the socioeconomic analysis are included in this report (See A ppendix D). The draft socioeconomic impact analysis report was presented along with the refi ned version of the proposed rule to the public and interested parties dur ing the April 2009 workshop.

IX. ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACTS

The California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) requires that Distr ict staff investigate the likely environmental impacts of the prop osed changes to the rules. After careful evaluation, District staff is proposing that a No tice of Exemption be filed for this rule project.

X. RULE CONSISTENCY ANALYSIS

Prior to adopting, amending, or repealing a rule or regulation that implements best available retrofit technology (BARCT), California Health and Safety Code Section 40727.2 requires a written analysis that identifies and compar es requirements of the

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proposed rule with corresponding, existing and proposed District rules and corresponding United States En vironmental Protection Agency (EPA) rules, regulations, and guidelines. This analysis is attached to this staff report as Appendix E.

XI. REASONABLY AVAILABLE CONTROL TECHNIQUES (RACT) ANALYSIS

The federal Clean Air Act requires ozone non-a ttainment areas to implement RACT at all Major Sources of ozone precursors, and for all source categories covered by an EPA-promulgated Control Techniques Guidelin e (CTG) document. Major Source is defined as a stationary source wit h the potential to emit at least 10 tons per year of VOCs or nitrogen oxides. District staff has found that there are no major sources with charbroiling operations, and t hat EPA has not promulgated a CTG for this category. Therefore, federal RA CT requirements are not applicable to commercial charbroiling in the San Joaquin Valley.

XII. BEST AVAILABLE CONT ROL MEASURE (BACM) ANALYSIS

In October 2008, EPA staff commented that the Dis trict should incl ude a discussion showing that the rule is BAC M for PM10. BACM is required for all areas designated as

serious non-attainment and ab ove. The District has been de signated in attainment of
PM10 National Ambient Air Q uality Standard (NAAQS) as promulgated in the Federal Register Volume 73 pages 66759 - 66775 (73 FR 66759-66775). This rule development project is a control measure in an attainment plan for the PM2.5. The PM2.5 NAAQS has no requirement for BACM demons tration in attainment plans. See the federal Code of Regulations Title 40 Section 51 Subpart Z, which details th e plan requirements for nonattainment areas to attain the PM2.5 NAAQS. Sectio n 50.1010 does not mention a required BACM analysis. Since a BACM analysis is not required as part of the PM2.5
NAAQS and the Distr ict is in attainment of the PM10 NAAQS, District staff has not performed a BACM analysis fo r this rule project.

XIII. REFERENCES

1. Bay Area Air Quality Management Distric t – Regulation 6, Rule 2: Commercial Cooking Equipment, adopted December 5, 2007.

2. Bay Area Air Quality Management District – Staff Report for Regulation 6, Rule 2: Commercial Cooking Equipm ent, dated November 2007.

3. Virginia Lau, Senior Air Quality Specialist, Bay Area Air Quality Management District – personal communication April 21, 2009.

4. San Joaquin Valley Air Pollution Contro l District Area Source Emission Inventory Methodology (690 – Commercia l Cooking Operations).

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Final Staff Report: Rule 4692 (Commercial Charbro iling) October 8, 2009

5. South Coast Air Quality Management District Rule 1138 (Control of Emissions from Restaurant Operations ), adopted November 14, 1997.

6. California Public Utilities Commission, Food Service Technology Center – “Commercial Cooking Appliance Tec hnology Assessment” Report # 5011.02.26 published in 2002.

7. Dan Hopkins, Crest Distributing, Inc. – personal communication.

8. Fuoad Parvin, Halton Company – personal communication

9. Kurt Curtis, Captive Aire , Inc – personal communication

10. Mike Anderson, West Coast St ainless – personal communication

11. Steve Zimmerman, Plumbing and Mechani cal Systems, City of Bakersfield – personal communication.

12. Mike Smith, United Air Specialists – personal communication

13. Bill Lukens, Gaylord Industries – personal communication

14. Don Fisher, Food Service Technology Center – personal communication

15. Hildemann et al. (1991) En vironmental Science and Technology, Vol. 25, pp.

744-751.

16. Schauer and Cass (2000) Environmental Science and Technology, Vol. 34 (9), pp. 1821-1832.

17. Rogge et al. (1991) Environmental Sc ience and Technology, Vol. 25, pp. 1112-

1125.

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