## E L DORADO COUNTY AIR QUALITY MANAGEMENT DISTRICT



## Ozone Emergency Episode Plan

P REPARED IN COMPLIANCE WITH THE FEDERAL CLEAN AIR ACT

Adopted January 12, 2016Purpose This Ozone Emergency Episode Plan (Plan) contain s action s to prevent ambient ozone from reaching potential public health endangerment concentration s and reduce such concentrations

. It identifies emergency episode levels

, public announcement components, and emission co ntrol strategies

. El Dorado County (EDC) is classified as non

- attainment for the 2008 federal ozone 8

- hour average standard 1 . Because EDC experienced more than one day with a maximum hourly

ozone concentration greater than 0.10 ppm during the 2011/2012 period , the EDC Air Quality Management District (A QMD) is required to prepare this Plan.

Table 1 shows the number of days exceeding the 0.10 ppm threshold at EDC ozone monitoring sites from 2011 through 2014. During th at period , the maximum ozone 1

- hour concentration was 0.117 ppm . From 2013 to 2014, there were only two days in which the maximum hourly concentration exceeded 0.10 ppm. B oth exceedances occurred at the Placerville site. As ozone concentrations continue to decline statewide, the likelihood of ever reaching the significant harm
level (0.6 ppm) is very low.

Table 1 Number of Days with Maximum 1- hour Concentration Greater than 0.10 ppm*
at EDC Ozone Monitoring Sites

2011 ** 2012 ** 2013 ** 2014** *

Cool – Highway 193 # of Days 12 5 0 0

Max Conc. 0.108 0.117 0.092 0.09 4

Echo Summit # of Days 1 0 0 0

Max Conc. 0.108 0.084 0.082 0.081

Placerville – Gold Nugget Way # of Days 2 6 1 1

Max Conc. 0.103 0.108 0.097 0.104 *Values were rounded to 2 decimal places before comparing with 0.10 ppm to determine the number of exceedance days ** Official data obtained from ARB’s Aerometric Data Analysis & Management ( iADAM) http://www.arb.ca.gov/adam/select8/sc8start.php ***Preliminary unofficial data downloaded from ARB’s Air Quality and Meteorological Information System (AQMIS2) http://www.arb.ca.gov/aqmis 2/aqdselect.php?tab=daily

Legal Authority
The Federal C lean A ir A ct (CAA) 2 gives the U.S. E nvironmental Protection A gency (U.S. EPA) authority to halt air pollutant e mission s causing or contributing to public or welfare injury. The
U.S. EPA is authorized to bring a lawsuit in federal court or issue s uch orders necessary to protect public health, welfare, or the environment. Pursuant to California H ealth & S afety C ode (H&SC) 3

, th is authority is vested in the California A ir R esources B oard (ARB) and local air districts

. Th i s requirement appl ies to a range of emissions violations.

1 Portions of Sacramento Valley and Mountain Counties Air Basins in EDC are classified as Ozone Nonattainment area.

2 Federal Clean Air Act Section 110(a)(2)(G)

3 California Health & Safety Code Section 42400 et seq.T he ARB is responsible for contr olling mobile source emissions . D istricts are responsible for
controlli ng non- mobile source emissions . H&SC Section 41700 states sources are prohibit ed from emitting any pollutant(s) potentially caus ing public injury, detriment, nuisance or annoyance, or that endanger the public’s comfort, repose, health or safety . H&SC Section 42450, et seq., gives districts authority to abate emissions from sources violating H&SC Section 41700 or any other order, rule, or regulation prohibiting or limit ing pollutant discharge. Under H&SC Section 41509,
the ARB or other local agency rules cannot infringe upon a district’s authority to declare, pro hibit,

or abate a nuisance . T he California’s Attorney General is authorized to enjoin any p ollution discharge or nuisance.

Pursuant to the California Emergency Services Act 4 , a ir districts can work with a local governing body, to proclaim a local emergency when air pollution presents conditions of disaster or extreme peril to the safety of persons and property within the territorial limits of the governing body’s jurisdiction 5

. When a local emergency is declared

, local jurisdictions shal l implement the ir emergency plan s and take actions to mitigate or reduce the threat. Actions may include emergency response personnel deployment , emergency operation center activation and public protection order issuance

. Th r ough a local emergency declaration , a ir district s may obtain local agency aid to accomplish ambient ozone concentration reduction actions.

Require ment of a Plan for the Prevention of Air Pollution Emergency Episodes Under the Code of Federal Regulations (CFR) 6 , areas that do not attain federal ozone standards,
and have 1

- hour ozone concentrations above 0.10 parts per million ( ppm), are required to develop a P lan . The Plan must include action s necessary to prevent all jurisdictional ambient two hour average ozone concentrations from reaching “significant harm level” of 0.6 ppm. Th e ozone pollution episode trigger levels are :

• Alert level 0.2 ppm

• Warning level 0.35ppm

• Emergency level 0.5 ppm 7

Response actions to be taken when ozone concentration s reach the trigger s level s are identified

. Response actions provide rapid short

- term emission reduction s, to prevent reaching the 0.6 ppm significant harm level

. The AQMD commits to implementing the proposed actions associated with each episode identified in this Plan. Plan implement ation shall prevent the ambient ozone concentration from reaching the harmful level at 0.60 ppm.

4 California Emergency Services Act, California Government Code Section 8550

- 8668

5 California Government Code Section 8558 (c).

6 40 CFR 51.150 and 51.151

7 40 CFR 51 .150Ozone Precursor Emissions Ozone is created by the reaction of precursors Reactive Organic Gasses (ROG) and Nitrogen Oxides (NOx) in sunlight. Ozone emergency episode plans a dopted by other jurisdictions require

p ermitted facilities that emit large amounts of ozone precursors to prepare industrial abatement plan s (IAP) . I AP s contain actions necessary to rapidly reduce that facility’s ozone precursor

e missions when an episode level is triggered. The lowest threshold for requiring a n IAP is 50 tons per year for both RO G and NOx 8

. Table 2 shows the three highest EDC facilities with emissions
of ROG and NOx within EDC 9 . T here are currently no facilities exceed ing emission thresholds.

Table 2 Highest EDC Ozone Precursor ( ROG and NOx ) Emitting Facilities
ROG Emissions Facility Facility I D Air Basin Area Facility SIC Tons/Y ear Union Mine

Landfill 28 Mountain Counties El Dorado 4953 4.21

Tahoe Asphalt 3 Lake Tahoe South Lake Tahoe 2951 0.061

DST Output 30 Mountain Counties El Dorado Hills 2761 0.035

NOx Emissions Facility Facility ID Air Basin Area Facility SIC Tons/Y ear Union Mine

Landfill 28 Mountain Counties El Dorado 4953 2.13

DST Output 30 Mountain Counties El Dorado Hills 2761 0.814

Tahoe Asphalt 3 Lake Tahoe South Lake Tahoe 2951 0.34

If AQMD does permit a facility with actual ozone precursor emissions of 50 tons or more per year,
the f ollowing actions will be taken: a) Initiate the development process for a rule that establish es IAP criteria ( referred by 40 CFR 51 Appendix L) that will rapidly reduce facility ozone precursor emissions; b) Adopt an IAP rule within 90 days; and c) Request subject facilities submit IAP to AQMD for review and approval within 90 days of rule effect ive date

. P ermitted facilities comprise a very small po rtion of the ROG and NOx countywide emission
inventories. Figure 1 presents the 2012 10 reactive organic gases ( ROG ) and nitrogen oxides ( NOx )
emission i nventories in EDC

.

8 SMAQMD Rule 701

9 ARB online facility search engine http://www.arb.ca.gov/app/emsinv/facinfo/facinfo.php

10 ARB Emission Almanac (published in 2013 )Figure 1 EDC 2012 Emission Inventory*

* This is the latest complete emissions inventory from ARB. District Permit emissions are from AQMD’s permit database. A s depicted in Figure 1, EDC stationary sources produce only 8% of ROG emissions and 2 % of
NOx emissions. Of the total stationary source emissions, 40% of ROG emissions and 95 % of NOx emissions are from permitted sources. Therefore, permitted sources produce only approximately 3 % of ROG emissions and 2 % of NOx emissions co untywide. The major ozone precursor contributors are mobile sources and unpermitted area and stationary sources. Unusually high ozone precursor emissions from numerous additional sources outside EDC could raise
concentrations to t he Alert level and initiat e ozone emergency episode plan implementation. Figure 2 Annual Maximum 1

- hour Ozone Concentration in EDC since 197 5

*D ata downloaded from ARB ADAM on 8/ 25 /1 5Figure 2 indicates t he 0.2 ppm 1- hour ozone level has not been reached in EDC since monitoring began in 1975. The trend show s a generally consistent decrease since 1998

. EDC o zone concentration s have substantially reduced by the implementation of regional control regulations and programs

. Western EDC is in the Sacramento F ederal Ozone N onattainment A rea (SFONA)

. The SFONA is designated as nonattainment for the federal 8-hour ozone standards

. Two SFONA

ozone State Implementation Plans (SIP) have been developed to identify ozone precursor
emission control strategies fo r mobile and non

- mobile sources

. Based on SIP commitment s, AQMD adopt ed or amend ed rules and develop ed programs to progress toward s attaining the
standards. T he SFONA air districts continue to develop control strateg ies to achieve attainment.
T he current (20 15 ) federal ozone eight

- hour average standard is 0.070 ppm . Development and implementation of control regulations to achieve the standard will continually reduce one-hour
maximum ozone concentration s ensuring trigger levels are not reached

.

A QM D regulates open burn ing, including residential, land development, fire hazard reduction, vegetation management, prescribed fire, and agricultural 11 . For both the Mountain Counties and Lake Tahoe Air Basins, AQMD works cooperatively with the ARB and CalFire to disseminate daily burn day information. Proactive burn program implementation through no burn day patrol, 24 hour complaint response

, and a first time violators training program minimize emissions during periods of atmospheric conditions conducive to high ozone levels.

A QM D contributes funding to the regional “Spare the Air” program

, managed by the Sacramento Metropolitan Air Q uality Management District

. Spare the Air is an air quality forecast ing and reporting program providing daily public notification s . Notifications are based on regional ozone and particulate matter concentrations. Advisories include an episodic ozone reduction element

, during the summer ozone season. The program protect s public health by informing the publ ic of unhealthy air quality and encouraging them to minimiz e vehicle trips to reduce emissions

. The
notification s are based on ozone concentration measurements from all SFONA monitoring
stations and meteorological forecasts the national weather service advisories and local agencies. When atmospheric stagnation conditions are forecasted , t he public is notified through email, text

,
or the media

, that a Spare the Air Day is issued

. AQMD’s participation in the Sacramento regional Spare the Air program will promote the acquisition of forecasts of the atmospheric stagnation conditions as frequently as they are issued , pursuant to the CFR requirements 12

.

11 A QM D Rule 30 0

12 40 CFR 51.152 “Contingency Plans” 13 EDC Ordinance Code Article 2.21.080 Emergency Organization and FunctionsOzone Episode s T he one hour ozone episode trigger levels are shown in Table 3

.

Table 3 Ozone Episode Trigger Levels
Alert

, Stage 1 Warning

, Stage 2 Emergency

, Stage 3 Ozone (1

- hour average) 0.20 ppm 0. 35 ppm 0.50 ppm

Ozone Monitoring AQMD staff do not operate ozone monitors. Staff monitor ozone levels with the Spare the Air

program notifications and CARB’s Air Quality and Meteorological Information System.

Episode Declaration
Whenever the ozone 1

- hour concentration

, measured at any of the EDC monitoring sites

, reaches

an episode trigger level

, AQMD shall declare an episode stage to be in effect in EDC

. If an episode stage is declared, AQMD shall notify the following:

1. EDC Board of Supervisors /OES Director
2. All Sacramento region and Mountain Counties Air Basin air districts

, 3. California Air Resources Board

, 4. EDC Chief Administrative Officer

, 5. C hief executive officers of the EDC incorporated municipalities

, 6. Sheriff , P olice and Fire chiefs,
7. EDC Health Officer,
8. Local Hospitals
9. EDC Office of Emergency Services
10. EDC Office of Education and private school principals,
11. Major regional newspapers, television and radio stations,
12. Sacramento Region al Spare the Air Program,
13. AQMD permitted facilities, and
14. Any other entities as deemed appropriate by the APCO,

The A QM D shall periodically review and update this notification list (List). E mergency episode
notifications shall include:

• P redicted and/or current episode level data and trigger levels

,

• T he duration anticipated,

• T he affected area geographic boundaries anticipated

,

• A n air quality health significance statement , and

• T he voluntary or mandatory control actions proposed for each episode level

.Episode Actions: The actions identified for each trigger level include :

• Public notification,

• Activity cessation,

• Ozone precursor emission reductions, and

• IAP implementation.
T hese actions are to :

• Provide the public with recommendations to minimize their ozone exposure, and

• Rapidly r educe precursor emissions to lower ozone co ncentrations below trigger levels

.

If ever an ozone episode is de clared

, AQMD shall implement the following :

1. Alert Episode , Stage 1 : a) Prepare the emergency episode notification , including a request to the public to curtail any unnecessary motor vehicle operation; b) Notify the entities identified in the L ist of the a lert episode declar ation ; c) Advise the EDC Office of Education Superintendent to contact and coordinate with public and private schools, to suspend students’ strenuous activities ; d) N otify the news media to broadcast the appropriate warning to the public

, in cooperation with t he EDC Office of Emergency Services (OES) and the County
Health Officer ; e) Request facilit ies with approved IAPs implement those plans and recomme nd employees refrain from operating vehicles until episode terminat ion; f) Conduct on- site inspection of IAP facilities to ascertain compliance with applicable
IAP emission control action requirements ; and g) Prohibit all open burning including agricultural waste and incineration

2. Warning Episode , Stage 2 : In addition to the Alert Episode actions

, the following actions should be implemented in a Warning episode

. a) Request Listed entities , within the scope of their authority:
i. Prohibit all types of open burning;
ii. C lose non

- essential facilities, except emergency facilities and those necessary to protect public safety, national security or national defense ; and
iii. Request that employees of closed non

- essential public agency facilit ies refrain from using vehicles. b) Request closure of all EDC public and private schools, colleges, and u niversities; c) Conduct on

- site inspection of major source ( 25 t py ozone p recu rsor ) permitted facilities to ascertain the accomplishment of applicable emission control actions. d) Request subject facilities to close in accordance with approved IAPs ; e) Request closed facility emp loyers re frain from vehicle use until episode terminat ion;f) Request the suspension of all indoor and outdoor events at parks or recreational facilities open to the public ; g) Request the suspension of all athletic events

, including boating and off

- road recreational vehicle usage ; and h) Request that the EDC Board of Supervisors and Health Officer consider declaring a local emergency for air pollution 13

, and implement emergency control measures

, pursuant to the California Emergency Services Act

.

3. Emergency Episode , Stage 3 : In addition to the Alert and Warning Episode ac tions , the following will be implemented : a) Request that the OES Director /Board of Supervisors Chair declare a local emergency for air pollution and initiate the emergency operations plan ; b) Request the media broadcast that a local emergency exists due to high ozone
concentrations ; c) Th rough the EDC OES , conduct the following actions:
i. C lose all government facilities which are not immediately necessary for public health and safety, national security or national defense;
ii. C lose all recreational and non

- emergency commercial and industrial facilities;
iii. Request implementation of carpooling and the use of mass tran sportation; and
iv. R equest that the public use only mass transit. d) Close principal streets, as deemed necessary by the OES Director, Health Officer, APCO, and local law enforcement agencies, to protect public health and welfare; and e) Request OES engage with the State agency for necessary actions pursuant to the
California Emergency Services Act

, which includes prohibiting the use of all motor vehicles except for emergencies, or any other action deemed warranted.

Episode Termination
The A QM D shall declare an episode terminated when the one

- hour ozone concentration
measurements from all EDC monitoring sites fall below the Alert level and meteorological data
indicates concentration s will continue decreasing. Upon episode termination declarat ion, AQMD shall notify all entities listed above.

Interdistrict Coordination Should the Air Pollution Control Officer (APCO) of a district within the Sacramento Valley nonattainment area, or adjacent to the El Dorado Air Quality Management District declar e a stage 1, 2, or 3 episode within that district and request assistance, the APCO of AQMD shall take action to make a determination as to the significance of sources within the district and notify the adjacent district of any action being taken to reduce pollutants.

13 EDC Ordinance Code Article 2.21.080 Emergency Organization and Functions