# Air Quality Impacts in the Bor der Re gion

Pr esen tat ion to GNEB Mar ch 24, 2011
Sue St endebach , EP

A

# Uniquely Va rying Bor der Z ones Geogr aph y, t opogr aph y, g eology , temper atur e, humidity , am t. of sunligh t, wind pat te rns, population, indus try , socioeconomic fa ct or s, et c. all con tribute to defining:  Ty pes and v olume of man

- made air pollut an ts (criteria and GHGs)  Natur al sour ces of air pollution  Dis tribution of pollut an ts  Impacts of pollut an ts  Options f or mitig at ing pollution  Conditions f or r enewable ener gy

# Ex amples of R egional V ariability and Ef fe cts  Windblown dus t fr om open desert and plains, agricultur al pr actices and unpa ve d r oads.  San Diego
- Tijuana air basin

-- pr evailing winds are north to south, while in Imperial

- Me xicali, winds blow f airly ev enly in both dir ections, depending on the season.  In bor der air basins with lar ge populations and along main tr ade corridor s, ve hicle emissions will be high and concentr ated, leading to both health impacts and contribution to climate change. These ar e e xa cerba ted by idling v ehicles at bus y ports - of

- entry .  In lower socioeconomic areas, v ehicles ma y be older and ther efore more polluting. R esidential ar eas situa ted close to bor der cr ossings often house poor er populations, e xposing community to higher r ates of pollution.  Due in part to high concentr at ions of PM10, Imperial County has the highes t r ate of childhood as thma in Calif ornia.  Calif ornia and Baja Calif ornia terr ain and wind patterns result in the gr eatest wind power potential in the border region, while Ariz ona - Sonor a and New Me xico
- Chihuahua hold the gr eatest solar pr ospects.  Me xicali has a huge geothermal field that fuels a 700 MW ener gy gener at ion f acility . Imperial County has 10 small fa cilities fueled by geothermal, pr oducing 327 MW of ener gy .

# Major Crit eria Emissions Sour ces

in the Bor der R egion Ve hicles:  In the U .S. and Me xic o bor der region, man y millions of vehicles already in use c on tinue t o emit relatively large amounts of nitr og en ox ides (NO X) and fine particulat e mat te r.  These pollut an ts c on tribut e t o serious health c onditions, such as asthma, and c an w or sen heart and lung disease.  Diesel vehicles additionally emit black c arbon and c arbon dio xide, which c on tribut e t o global climat e chang e.  New clean vehicles and ultr a - low sulfur fuels in the U .S. will co ntinue to lower these emissions as fleets turn over .  Me xic o is tigh te ning vehicle emissions st andards, but ultr a - low sulfur diesel will not be nationally a va ilable until late 2014. Energy Gener ation:  Despit e c on tr ols, f ossil fueled energy g ener ation f acilities emit sulfur dio xide, nitr og en o xides, mer cury , c arbon dio xide and other pollut an ts.

# Curr en t U .S. O 3 

# and PM St andar ds
Oz one:  Curr ently

, 0.075 ppm 8
- hour s ta ndar d  EP A pr oposal la ys out a r ange of 0.060 to 0.070 ppm fo r consider at ion to r eplace curr ent 8
- hour sta ndar d.  Final rule an ticipat ed this summer
. PM10:  150 μg /m3 (24

- hour a ver age standar d);  50 μg /m3 (annual s ta ndar d)

# O3 Monit oring St at ions0.06 0.07 0.08 0.09 0.1

2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009**O z** **o n** **e (** **p p** **m )**  **Ozo ne Concentr**  **ations in the Bor**  **der R egion** 

**--- DRAFT**  **---**

Tijuana-San Diego Mexicali/Imperial Valley Nogales (U.S.) Ciudad Juarez/El Paso Lower Rio Grande Valley (U.S.) Standard (8hr avg: 0.075 ppm; 2008 standard)

# PM10 Monit oring St at ions0

50 100 150 200 250 300

2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009**P M** **1 0** **( u** **g /** **m 3** **) PM10 Concentr**  **at ions in the Bor**  **der Region** 

**--- DRAFT**  **---**

Tijuana-San Diego
Mexicali/Imperial Valley
Nogales (U.S.)
Ciudad Juarez/El Paso
Lower Rio Grande Valley (U.S.)
U.S. Annual Standard (50 ug/m3)

# O3 and PM10 Ex ceedances

--- DRAFT
---

54

28 37

24

9 8
1 5 0 10 20 30 40 50 60 702006200720082009**D a** **y s** **E x** **c e** **e d** **i n** **g S** **t a** **n d** **a r** **d Tijuana**  **- San Diego** 

O3 PM10 59

50

25
19 41
35 40

17

0 10 20 30 40 50 60 702006200720082009**D a** **y s** **E x** **c e** **e d** **i n** **g S** **t a** **n d** **a r** **d Mexicali/Imperial V**  **alley**

O3 PM10

# O3 and PM10 Ex ceedences

--- DRAFT
---

5 2 5 1 48

16 14 13

0 10 20 30 40 50 60 702006200720082009**D a** **y s** **E x** **c e** **e d** **i n** **g S** **t a** **n d** **a r** **d Ciudad**  **Juarez/El P aso** 

O3 PM10 10

0 2 2 42

14 13

2 0 10 20 30 40 50 60 702006200720082009**D a** **y s** **E x** **c e** **e d** **i n** **g S** **t a** **n d** **a r** **d Nog**  **ales (U.S.)**

O3 PM10

# As thma

-- Case Study

• Imperial Coun ty has the highes t r ate of childhood as thma hospit al admissions in Calif ornia.

• In 2003, childr en 0
- 14 y ear s old wer e admit te d to the hospit al bec ause of as thma

-- mor e than thr ee times the s tate a ver ag e. Nearly 85% of these hospit al admissions occurr ed among Latino childr en.
• Higher per cen ta ges of as thma among s tuden ts than in other parts of Calif ornia.

• Higher per cen ta ges of as thma than a national co mparison gr oup.
• As of 2009, childr en in Imperial Coun ty wer e s till thr ee times mor e lik ely t o be admit te d to the hospit al f or as thma than in the r es t of the St ate .

# Curr en t Bor der Po pula tion0

5,000,000 10,000,000 15,000,000 20,000,000 25,000,000

2005 2010 2015 2020 2025 2030**P o** **p u** **l a** **t i** **o n**  

## Bor **der R egion**  **Po pulation**  **and Fo**  **re cas**  **t P opulation**  **Gr owth:**  **2005 -**  **2030**

**--- DRAFT**  **---**

Actual Population (US and Mex; 2005) Projection: Low Scenario (US and Mex) Projection: Medium Scenario (US and Mex) Projection: High Scenario (US and Mex)$0

$50 $100 $150 $200 $250 $300 $350 $400

1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009**T r** **a d** **e V** **a l** **u e** **( B** **i l** **l i** **o n** **s )**  

### Va **lue of Land -**  **based Fr eigh**  **t Movemen t** 

**Acr oss the**  **U. S**  **. -**  **Me xico**  **Bor der** 

**--- DRAFT**  **---**

Exports from U.S. to Mexico Exports from Mexico to U.S.3.80

4.00 4.20 4.40 4.60 4.80 5.00

2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008**M i** **l l** **i o** **n s**  **Number of Northbound Tr**  **uck Crossings**  **at the U**  **.S. -**  **Me xico**  **Bor der P**  **er Ye**  **ar ---**  **DRAFT ---** 

72 74 76 78 80 82 84 86 88 90 92 94

2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008**M i** **l l** **i o** **n s**  **Number of Northbound Pa**  **sseng er**  **Ve hicle Cr**  **ossings a t the U**  **.S. -**  **Me xico**  **Bor der P**  **er Ye**  **ar ---**  **DRAFT ---** 

## Incr eased T ra de  Incr eased Emissions along

Tr ade Corridor s and at POEs  To da y, go ods shipped by truck comprise mor e than 70 per cen t of U .S.
– Me xic o tr ade, acc or ding t o A TA
.  In 2009, the Lar edo port

- of

- en try w as the busies t, with an es timated 1.4 million northbound truck s cr ossing the bor der

.  That same y ear

, Ot ay Mesa r ank ed second, with mor e than 684,000 northbound cr ossings.  Fo r December

, 2010, U .S.
- Me xic o surf ace tr ansport ation tr ade r ose signific an tly in v alue fr om December 2009, although not as high as in 2008.

• Imports by 16.3%
• Exports by 18.7%

# Pr oposed U .S.
- Me xico Long
- Haul Tr ucking

Pr ogr am
 Pr esiden ts Obama and Calder on ha ve agreed to a recipr oc al phased

- in pr ogr am f or opening border t o long

- haul trucks.  Needs Congr essional appr oval  Public comment period  Me xic o w ould lift t arif fs c omplet ely once pr ogr am begins.  Saf ety , security and emissions requiremen ts must be met f or Me xic an truck s/driver s t o bec ome certified f or participation in the pr ogr am.  Fo r emissions purposes, Me xic an truck engines must bear an EP A certific ation label f or the y ear of manuf acture.  Issue: F or U .S. model y ear 2007 or newer truck s tr ave ling in Me xic o, ultr a - low sulfur diesel will not a va ilable nationwide until November 2014, which is necessary t o main ta in the in te grity of the diesel particulat e filt er

. (DPF s)  DPF s r educe PM by gr eater than 90% .

## Air Emissions Impacts of Incr ease

in Long
- Haul Tr uck s Speculative at this point:  Wo uld lik ely see f ewer dr aya ge truck s hauling goods fr om Me xic o to tr ansf er st ations within the 20

- mile c ommer cial z one.  Bec ause of long

- haul dur ability demands, would lik ely see newer , and thus cleaner

, truck s than those used f or dr aya ge .  Over time, tr ade w ould lik ely increase such that the number of long

- haul truck s w ould be great er than the dr aya ge truck s they replace. T

ot al truck volume would then tr anslat e in to increased wa it times at POEs, and thus more idling emissions.  However

, it ’s possible, at least in the short

- to mid

- te rm, that an increase in cleaner long

- haul trucks and decrease in dirtier dr aya ge truck s c ould mak e the additional idling emissions a wash.  What c ombination of in te gr ated mechanisms c ould the U .S. undert ak e t o decrease idling and increase security and saf ety?

# An ti
- Idling at P oin ts of En try

 The Join t W orking Commit te e on T ra nsport ation Planning recently hosted a very successful work shop on greening tr ansport ation at the bor der

.  Numer ous pr esen te rs addressed truck and passeng er c ar emissions as one of man y aspects t o be c onsidered in greening POEs.  In response t o the Boar d’ s recommendation to address an ti
- idling at ports - of

- en try

, EP A is working with CE Q, the JW C, FHW A and other ag encies t o e xplore viable appr oaches that c omplemen t those aimed at assuring security and saf ety .  As a bonus, an ti
- idling mechanisms pr ovide the opportunity t o achieve c o - benefits

-- decreasing both crit eria pollut an ts and GHGs simult aneously
.

# Bor der Pr ojects & Significan t Impact  Thr ough the El

- Pa so Juar ez a re a Join t Advisory Commit te e (J AC ), R egion 6 helps support local, binational planning and pr ojects.  The “One Basin R esolution” fo r the P aso del Nort e ar ea will f acilit ate ro bus t monit oring , vehicle inspection, and eff orts tow ar d "harmoniz ation" of s ta ndar ds.  Re cen tly added MPOs t o J AC will e xpand ability t o addr ess emissions.  Te chnic al/policy assis ta nce in developmen t and update of Ciudad Juar ez “ Pr oAir e ” (SIP

- type t ool)  Mobile sour ce r eductions thr ough c onges tion mitig ation, I&M, in Juar ez , Smartw ay .  These and other eff orts br ough t El P aso in to atta inmen t f or the Oz one, CO , and PM10 NAA QS.

# Bor der Pr ojects & Significan t Impact  Moving t o R egion 9
-- assis te d s tate s and loc al governments in and adjacen t t o nonat ta inmen t ar eas (both sides of the bor der) by:  School bus and hea vy - duty truck re tr ofits  Fuel e fficiency demons tr ations  Landfill methane r ecovery  Ro ad pa ving  Activ e Bor der 2012 Ta sk F or ces  In te nsive assis ta nce with Baja monit oring network  Exploring one basin appr oach in Imperial

- Me xicali ar ea

# Futur e Challeng es and Necessary Support  Po te ntial f or El P aso t o slip back in to o zo ne nonat ta inmen t with new 8
- hr . St andard.  El P aso Coun ty still has some monit or s showing PM10 non

atta inmen t.  Sunland P ark is close t o the curr en t PM 2.5 st andard, with unpa ved ro ads and wood burning st oves c on tributing.  New areas c ould f all in to nonat ta inmen t with new oz one rule, and pot en tial PM st andard chang es in the future.  Security issues aff ecting t echnic al support f or A Q monit oring networks in El P aso , as well as other c apacity
– building.  Seeking cr oss - border emissions tr ansport guidance as new oz one and PM st andards ar e developed
– CAA pr ovision allowing in te rnational tr ansport t o be t ak en in to c onsider ation in implemen ting NAAQS.  Re plic ation of bi

- national c ooper ation if new areas (e.g. V alley , Lar edo , etc.) bec ome nonat ta inmen t and str ategies fo r new sour ce types (e.g. agriculture).

# Futur e Challeng es and Necessary Support  Further r oad pa ving in Sonor a and Baja is critical  Contr ol of agricultur al burning  Assis tance with smog checks in MX  Diesel truck idling a t bor der cr ossings
– hot spots; en vir onmental jus tice  Oper at ion of a well maintained air quality monitoring netw ork in Me xican bor der cities (Ambos Nog ales, Agua Prieta , San Luis Rio Color ado , northern Baja)  Baja government has minimal r esour ces to maint ain and r ead monitor s  Po ssible f or national AIRNow
- International pr oject in Mexico to assist  Adequa te resources necessary , especially f or Me xico , to tak e actions to re duce emissions. Ex ample: additional NADBank loans and BEIF

- lik e funding fo r r oad pa ving  Imperial

- Me xicali bina tional cooper at ion in managing cr oss - bor der air basin, using J AC as model. Str ong local support is necessary to mak e this appr oach viable.  Further r eduction of GHG r eductions fr om cleaner tr ansportation, methane r ecovery

, ener gy efficiency

, bina tionally
.  New national fuel econom y/GHG re ductions r egula tions will help immensely
. EP A and other s w orking with Me xico to pr ovide assis tance on similar rule.

# Thank Y

ou. Con ta ct In fo rmation:

Sue St endebach EP A Of fice of Air and Radiation
202
- 564
- 8309 ste ndebach.sue@epa. gov