P Pr ov i di ng Leg al & Tech ni cal Assi st an ce t o t he Gr ass ro ot s M ov emen t f or E nvi ro nm ent al J ust i ce P 

# Cen ter on Rac e, P overty, & the Envi ronme nt

47 Ke ar ny S tre et, S uit e 804 Sa n F ra nci sco, C A 94108 415/346-4179 • fa x 415/346-8723

bnewell @crpe-ej .o rg Ra l p h Sa nt iag o Ab as c al (19 34- 1997) Dir e c to r 1990- 1997
L uke W. C ol e (19 62- 2009) Ex e c utiv e Di r e c to r 1997- 2009

Carol ine Far rel l Acting E xecutive Direc tor

Lupe Martinez Direc tor o f Or ganizing
Gustavo Aguirre Assistan t Direc tor o f Or ganizing

Da ni e l a S imun ov ic Ir maMe de l l in Refugio Gutierr ez Community Or ganizer s Do n Sp r ad l in Direc tor o f Devel opme nt

Laure n Richte r Devel opme nt As sistant
Va leri e Goro spe Administrative Assistan t

Brent Newel l Le gal Direc tor
Ingr id Brostro m • Aleg ría De La C ruz Jennifer Giddings • Mar ybe ll e Nze gwu Sof ia Sar ab ia Staff Attorneys
Joh an ne s E p ke Le gal Inter n
August 31, 2009 By e le c tro nicma il
Fr ance s Wi cher Offic e of A ir Planning ( AI R-2) U

. S

. E n v i r o n m e n t a l P r o t e c t i o nA g e n c y , R e g i o nIX 75 Hawthor

ne Stree t San Fr ancisc o, CA 94105-3901 wicher .fra

nces@e pa.g ov Andre w Steckel Offic e of A ir Planning ( AI R-4) U

. S

. E n v i r o n m e n t a l P r o t e c t i o nA g e n c y , R e g i o nIX 75 Hawthor

ne Stree t San Fr ancisc o, CA 94105-3901 stecke l.andre w@epa .g ov Re: Com m ents on Revisions to the Calif ornia State Im plem entation P lan, S an Joaqui n Valley Air P ollution Control Distr ict (D ocket N o. EPA –R09–OAR–2009–0492); Com m ents on Approval an d Pr om ulgation of Im ple m e nt at ion P lan s: 1- Hou r Oz one Ext r e m e Ar e a P lan forSan J oa quin Valley, CA (Doc ket No. EP A–R09–OAR–2008–0693) . De ar M s. Wic he r a

nd Mr . St e c ke l: The Center

on Race , Poverty

& the Environment submits these comments on behalf of the As so c iatio n o f I

rr itate d Re sid e nts , Cl e an Wate r a nd Ai r M atte r, Com ité Wes t G os he n, Com ité U n i d o d e P l a i n v i e w , C o m m i t t e e f o r a B e t t e r A r v i n , N atur a l R e s o ur c e s D e f e n s e C o un c i l , La Nueva Espera nza de Alpaugh, El Quinto Sol de Amer ica, South Shafter Proje ct Commit tee,Ms. Fra

nces Wicher

and Mr. Andr ew Stecke l Comments on P roposed Ac tion on Rul e 4570, the 2004 SI P, the 2008 SI P Cl arific ation, and the 2 0 0 3 S t at e S tra t egy August 31, 2009

Renee Sharp and B ill W alker , P ARTI CL E C I V I CS : H OW C LEAN ER A I R I N C AL I F OR NI A W I LL 1 S AVE L I VE S AND S AVE M ONEY , Environmental Working Group at 19, attache d as Exh. 1. Pag e 2 of 11 S h a f t e r C h a p t e r Le a g u e o f

U n i t e d Lat i nA m e r i c anC i t i z e n s , U n i t e d f o r a C h an g e i nT o o l e v i l l e , La Voz de Tony

ville(collec tively

“AI R”).
I. INTRODUCTION.

A. F ac tu al B ac kgr ound.
In p art be c a us e of e xemp tio ns fo r a g ri c ult

ur a l and oil pr od uc tio n s ourc e s, and

ina de qu ate regulations, the San J oaquin Valley failed to attain the 1-hour ozone standa rd by November

15, 1999. 73 Fe d. Reg . 61381 (Oc t. 16, 2008). As a r esult of that fa ilure, the Ac t rec lassified the Valley to a seve re nonattainment are a by operation of law. Id . EPA subsequently found that Ca lif or nia fa ile d to su

bmi t r e qu ir e d c omp on e nts of a se ve re are a

pla n. 67 F e d. Re g . 6 17 84 (O c t. 2, 2002). On Apr il 16, 2004, EPA gra nted California’ s reque st to reclassify the Valley

to an extreme nonattainment ar ea a nd require d the Valley

to submitan extreme attainment plan by November

15, 2004 and Ne w Source Review program amendments by May 15, 2005. 69 Fe d. Reg . 20550 (April 16, 2004). EPA resc inded the 1-hour ozone standard e ffe ctive one year from the e ffe ctive date of the 8-hour National Ambient Air Quality Standard (“ standard” or “standa rds”) desig nation. 69 Fe d. Reg . 23951, 23969 (April 30, 2004); 69 F ed. Reg . 23858 (April 30, 2004). Eve n though E PA has resc inded the 1-hour

ozone standard, the disc retionar y and mandatory

require ments applicable 1- hour ozone nonattainment ar eas r emain in ef fec t. See 69 F e d. Re g . 2 39 51 , 2 39 72 -2 39 74 (A pr il 30 , 2 00 4) ; see also South Coast Air Qualit y Manage ment District v. U.S. E.P.A

. , 472 F.3d 882 (D.C. Cir. 2006). NO x an d V OC are ozo ne (c omm on ly kn own a s “ smo g ” ) p re c ur so rs and fi ne pa rt ic le (P M2 .5 ) p re c ur so rs . B oth ozo ne and

PM2 .5 le ve ls i n th e San Joa qu in V a lle y c on sti tut e a

pu bli c health cr isis. The Environmental Working G roup published the Air Resour ces B oard’ s estimates that show 1,292 San J oaquin Valley residents die e ach year

from long -term e x posure to PM2.5. 1 Ozo ne and

PM p oll uti on

e xac e rb ate re sp ir ator

y c on dit ion s, inc lud inga sthma , in c re a se hospitaliz ations and eme rg ency room visits, contribute to cardia c illnesses, and inc rea se schoolMs. Fra

nces Wicher

and Mr. Andr ew Stecke l Comments on P roposed Ac tion on Rul e 4570, the 2004 SI P, the 2008 SI P Cl arific ation, and the 2 0 0 3 S t at e S tra t egy August 31, 2009

Americ an L

ungAssociation, S TA TE OF TH E A IR : 2009, attache d as Exh. 2. 2Id . at 21. 3 Id . at 20. 4 The California

Air Resourc es B oard a

nd the Amer ican L

ungAssociation of California , 5 R E C E NT R ES EA R C H F I NDI NGS : H EA L TH E FFECT S O F P ARTI CUL AT E M ATTER AND O Z ONE A IR P OL L UTI ON , J anuar

y 2004 at 2. Pag e 3 of 11 and wor k absente eism. The Ame rica n LungAssociation ra

nks the San J oaquin Valley counties 2 of Ke rn, Tular e, and F resno a s the third, fourth, and sixth m ost oz one-polluted c ounties in the United States, respe ctively

. For long te rm exposure to PM2.5, the America n LungAssociation 3 ranks the San Joaquin Valley counties of Ke rn, Tular e, King s, and F resno a s the first, fourth, se ve nth , a nd e ig hth mos t po llute d c ounti e s. 4 A document pr epar ed jointly by the California A ir Resource s Boa rd and the Americ an LungAssociation desc ribes ozone as
a powe rful oxidant that can damag e the r espirator y trac t, causinginflammation and ir ri tatio n, and

ind uc e s sy mpt oms su c h a s c ou g hin g , c he st t ig htn e ss, sh or tne ss of bre ath, and wor seningof asthma sy mptoms. Oz one in suffic ient doses incre ases the pe rmea

bility of lungcells, re nderingthem more susce ptible to tox ins and microor g anisms. The g reatest risk is to thos e who a re more active outdoor s duringsmoggy

periods, such a s children, athletes, and outdoor wor kers. Exposure to levels of ozone above the cur rent ambient air quality

standard le ads to lung inflammation and lungtissue damag e, and a reduc tion in the amount of air inhaled int o th e lun g s. Re c e nt e vid e nc e ha s, fo r t he fi rs t ti me , li nk e d th e on se t of a sthma to expos ure of

elevated ozone levels in exercisingchildren ( McConnell 2002). Th e se le ve ls o f o zon e a lso re du c e c ro p a nd tim be r y ie lds , d ama g e nativ e pla

nts , and dama g e mate ri a ls s uc h a s r ub be r, pa int s, fa

br ic , a nd pla sti c s. 5 Th e do c ume nt a lso sh ow s th e signif ic ant h e a lthe ff

e c ts a nd c os ts o f e xpos ur e to f

ine pa rt ic ulate matter a nd ozone in California.
In late 2008, Jane V. Ha ll, Ph.D., and Victor B raje r, Ph.D., published a compr ehensive analy sis of the eff

ects fr om not meeting the 1997 8-hour ozone standa rd and the 2008 PM 2.5.Ms. Fra

nces Wicher

and Mr. Andr ew Stecke l Comments on P roposed Ac tion on Rul e 4570, the 2004 SI P, the 2008 SI P Cl arific ation, and the 2 0 0 3 S t at e S tra t egy August 31, 2009

SeeJ ane H all and Victor

Br ajer , T HE B EN EFI T S O F M EE TI NG F ED ER A L C L EA N A IR 6 S TA NDA RDS I N TH E S OUTH C OAS T AND S AN J OAQUI N V AL L EY A I R B AS I NS , November 2008, attache d as Exh. 3. See Select 8 Summaries, attac hed as Exh. 4. 7 Pag e 4 of 11 Th e he a lthe ff

e c ts o f n ot m e e tin gthe se sta nd ard s, and

the ir c on c omi tant e c on omi c va lue s, inf lic t a conser vative mea surable c ost of $5.7 billion each y ear –$ 1, 60 0 p e r p e rs on

– in the San Joa qu in Valley

. Whil e these data a re not dire ctly

related to the fa ilure to meet the 1- hour ozone standar d, 6 attainingthe 1-hour sta

ndard r efle cts prog ress towa rds attainingthe 8-hour sta ndard a nd the 2008 PM2.5 standard (NO x and VOC a re a lso PM2.5 precursors) . Thus, a mea ningf ul plan to attain the 1-hour standa

rd by the 2010 dea dline also means pr og ress towa rds solving the health and economic c onsequenc es of the a ir quality crisis in the San J oaquin Valley

. Be tween 2006 a

nd 2008, the San J oaquin Valley violated the 1-hour

ozone standard on a

n aver ag e of 13 da

y s eac h y ear

and has violate d the 1997 8-hour ozone standa rd an a vera g e of 77 day s eac h y ear . 7
B. St at ut or y Ba c kgr ound. “The Clean Air Ac t sets forth a c ooperative state-f eder al sche me for improvingthe nation’s air qua lity .” Vi

gil v . Le av itt , 366 F.3d 1025, 1029 ( 9th Cir. 2004). Congr ess ena cted the 19 70 Cle an A ir

Ac t ( “ the Ac t” ), a s ame nd e d in 19 77 and 19 90 , “ to p ro te c t and

e nh anc e the qu a lity of the Nation’s air re source s so as to promote the public hea lth and welfa re a nd the produc tive capa city of its population.” 42 U.S.C. § 7401(b)(1). The Act re lies on a sche me of c ooperative fede ralism, wher eby

the states deve lop and submit plans and regulations to attain the health-ba sed standards. EPA’ s role is to ensure that such plans and r egulations conform to the minimum require ments of the Ac t. F or me r C a lif or nia He a lth& Sa fe ty

Cod e § 4 23 10 (e ) e xemp te d “ any e qu ipm e nt u se d in ag ricultural ope rations in the g rowingof cr ops or the ra ising of f owl or animals” f

rom the obligation to obtain a permit. Cal. Health & Safety Code § 42310(e) (2003). Af ter be ing sue d by Ca lif or nia a ir qu a lity a dv oc ate s in

20 02 ov e r E PA’ s il le g a l a pp ro va l of

Ca lif or nia ’s Ti tle V p e rm it pr og ra ms, EPAse ttl e d th e lit ig atio n a nd fo un d th at th e a g ri c ult

ur a l e qu ipm e nt e xemp tio n in section 42310(e ) conf

licted with the Act’ s Title V operating pe rmit require ments. See Association of Irritated Residents v. EPA , Consolidated Case Nos. 02-70160, 02- 70177, 02-70191; 67 Fe d. Reg . 35990 (May

22, 2002) (“Notice of

Def iciency”).Ms. Fra

nces Wicher

and Mr. Andr ew Stecke l Comments on P roposed Ac tion on Rul e 4570, the 2004 SI P, the 2008 SI P Cl arific ation, and the 2 0 0 3 S t at e S tra t egy August 31, 2009

Rule 4570 Final Dr aft Staff Report, J une 15, 2006 at Ta ble 5, attac hed as Exhibit 5. 8 Id . at Table 8. 9 See EPA , D a ir

y L oc atio ns and

He rd Size , Ce ntr a l V a lle y

Ca lif or nia , CE D0 60 13 09 .1 , Augus t 10 10, 2007; EPA, Dairy

Cow Concentration, San J oaquin Valley California, CED0601309.2, August 10, 2007. These maps a nd the under lying data ar e incor porate d by

ref ere nce be cause the phy sical size of the maps and the volume of under lying da ta make it imprac ticable to submit as Ex hibits. Rule 4570 Final Dr aft Staff Report, J une 15, 2006 at Ta ble 12. 11 Pag e 5 of 11 On May 22 , 2 00 2, EPApr omu lg ate d th e No tic e of De fi c ie nc y

that f ound Ca lif or nia ’s Ti tle V per mit progr ams wer e illeg al bec ause of the agricultural e x emption in California Hea lth & Safety Code § 42310(e) . 67 Fe d. Reg . 35990 (May 22, 2002). The N otice of D efic iency threatened Califor

nia with a loss of hig hway fundingif the State did not eliminate the agricultural exemption. Id . at 35991; 42 U.S.C. §§ 7509(a), (b)

. As a re sult of EPA’s threat to withhold highw ay funding , the California L eg islature e na c te d a c omp re he ns ive re fo rm

sc he me in t

he fa ll o f 2 00 3. Common ly re fe rr e d to a s Se nate B ill 700, the leg islation amended a nd added se vera l sections to the Hea lth & Safe ty Code to corr ect this lack of re g ulation. The sec tion releva nt here , Section 6 of SB 700, c alls for c omprehe nsive emissions controls from exist ing L arg e Confined Animal F acilities (“L CAFs”) Se e ge ne ra lly He a lth& Sa fe ty

Cod e § 4 07 24 .6 . T he Ai r D ist ri c t in c lud e d th e ru le re qu ir e d b y SB 70 0 in

its 2004 Ozone Attainment Demonstration Plan as a SI P commitm ent. Fo r 2 0 0 5 , th e D i s tri ctes t i m at es th ata 7 4

. 5 t o n s p er d ay o f V OC , a s i gn i fi ca n tp er ce n t age of the tot a l a ir

ba sin vo latil e or g anic c omp ound e mis sio ns , c ome s f

ro m c on fi ne d a

nim a l f a c ili tie s. 8 Of that to ta l, t

he Di str ic t e sti mate s th at 51 .2 ton s p e r d ay of VO C are re late d to da ir

y op e ratio ns . 9 EPAha s d e ve lop e d im

pr e ssi ve ma

ps sh ow ingthe loc atio n, size , a nd are a de ns ity of San Joa qu in Va lle y Da ir ie s. Ac c or din gto t he Di str ic t, t

he re a re 43 0 d a ir ie s th at ha

ve mor e tha

n 1 ,0 00 mil k 10 c ow s. 11 The District’s 2007 O zone Plan documents a total 2005 VOC inventory in the air ba sin ofMs. Fra

nces Wicher

and Mr. Andr ew Stecke l Comments on P roposed Ac tion on Rul e 4570, the 2004 SI P, the 2008 SI P Cl arific ation, and the 2 0 0 3 S t at e S tra t egy August 31, 2009

Appendix B, 2007 Ozone Plan at Tables B -1 and B -3, attac hed as Exhibit 6. The 2007 12 Ozo ne Plan is an e xtre me ly larg e do c ume nt. F or

the purp os e s o f t

his c omm e nt l e tte r, AI R w ill include spec ific cha

pters or a ppendice s as exhibit s, but incorporates the entire plan by ref ere nce fo r p ur po se s o f a ny a dmi nis tr ativ e re c or d o n ju dic ia l r e vie w. Th e 20 07 Ozo ne Pla n is ava ila

ble at www.va lley air.org/Air_Quality _Plans/AQ_Final_Adopte d_Ozone2007.htm. Appendix I , 2007 Ozone Plan at I -7, attac hed as Exhibit 7. 13 Appendix B, 2007 Ozone Plan at Tables B -1 and B -3. 14 SeeDistrict, Air Polluti on Control Office r’s De termination of VOC Emission Fac tors for 15 Dairie s, August 1, 2005, attache d as Exhibi t 8; Rul e 4570 F inal Dra ft Staff Repor t, J une 15, 2006 at Table 4. Mitloehner, et a l., V OL AT I L E F ATTY A C I DS , A MI NE , P HE NOL , AND A LCO H O L E MI S S I ONS 16 F R OM D AI R Y C OW S AND F R ES H W AS TE , May 31, 2005, attache d as Exhibi t 9. Sc hmi dt, e t a l., Da ir

y Ai r E mis sio ns : Summa

ry of Da ir y Em iss ion Es tim atio n Pr oc e dure s, 17 May 2006, attache d as Exhibi t 10. I ronica lly , the flux chamber methodolog y that Dr. Schmidt u s e s un d e r e s ti mate s e mi s s io n s b e c a u s e it d o e s n o t s im

u late th e e f

f e c t o f w in d s p e e d

o nf lux, amongother fa ctors, thus artific ially suppressingemissions estimates. See, e .g., Hudson and Ayoko, O D O R S AMPL I NG 1: P H Y SI CA L C HE MI S TR Y C ONS I DE R ATI ONS , Bi o re s o urc e T ec h n o l o gy x x x (2007) xx x -xx x (pre publication version), attached a s Ex hibit 11; Hudson and Ayoko, O DOR S AMPL I NG 2, C O M PA RI SO N O F P HYS I C AL AND A ERO D Y N A M I C C H A RA CT ER I ST I CS O F S AMPL I NG Pag e 6 of 11 458.8 tons per day

. Ex isting dairie s theref ore r epre sent 11.1% of a ll 2005 VOC emissions. 12 L oo kin gint o th e futur e , th e Di str ic t pr oje c ts a n unmi tig ate d in c re a se in c on fi ne d a nim a l f a c ili tie s’ VOC emissions from 65.4 tons per day of VOC in 2005 to 90.4 tons per day in 2023. The

13 District estimates that in 2023, the total VOC emissions in the air basin will be 414.6 tons per d ay. 14
T o e s t i m at e V O C e m i s s i o n s , th e D i s tr i c tr e l i e s o ni t s A u gu s t1 , 2 0 0 5 e s t i m at e o f d a i ryrelated VOC emissions, which the District re peate dly descr ibes as a c onservative VOC emissions e sti mate

. On e e xamp le of why the Di str ic t’ s Augus t 1, 20 05 VO C “ e mis sio n f a c tor ” is l owis 15 the re cent r esea

rch of Dr. F rank Mitloehner

(funde d by

ARB a nd EPA), in which Dr . Mitloehner disclosed sig nificant amounts of VOC emissions from cows’ e nteric e missions and fr esh manure , emissions that including the VO Cs ethanol and methanol. Another e x ample of why the 16 District’s emission fac tor is low is the rece nt resea rch of Dr. Char les Schmidt (funded by ARB)

. 17Ms. Fra

nces Wicher

and Mr. Andr ew Stecke l Comments on P roposed Ac tion on Rul e 4570, the 2004 SI P, the 2008 SI P Cl arific ation, and the 2 0 0 3 S t at e S tra t egy August 31, 2009

D EVI CE S : A R EVI EW , Biore source Tec hnology x x x (2007) xx x -xx x (pre publication version), attache d as Exhibi t 12. Seenote 9, su

pra . 18 Pag e 7 of 11 Includingthe District’s estimated r eductions as a result of Rule 4570, the growth in the dairy industry eclipses the D istrict’s claimed r eductions: the inventory dips from 65 tons per da

y in 20 05 to 53 to ns per d ay in 20 11 andth en s tea di ly in creas es t o 6 7 t on s p er da y in 20 23

. By

18 2023, total confined a

nimal fac ility

emissions of 90.4 tons per day of VOC, includingclaimed re du c tio ns fr om R

ule 45 70 , w ill the re fo re re pr e se nt 1 6. 2% of the tot a l a ir

ba sin VO C e mis sio ns . II. EPASHOUL D DISAP P ROVE THE RACT DETERMINATION F OR DAIRY A ND CA TTLE O P ER

AT ION S. We a g re e wi th E PA’ s p ro po se d f ind ingthat th e Di str ic t ha s f a ile d to de mon str ate RA CT for hogand poultry

operations. EPA, however, should not def er a decision on RACT inadequa cy for da iry and cattle operations because of the Air Compliance Ag ree ment’s air monitoringstudy

. There is no “hard” deadline in that a g ree ment by which EPA must promulgate the Emission Estimating Methodolog ies ref ere nced in the pr oposed rule, be cause the EPA scienc e advisory panel may

extend the date for

EPA’s publication. See70 Fe d. Reg . 4958, 4964 ¶32 (Jan. 31, 2 0 0 5 )

. E P A m ay

th e r e f o r e f urth e r d e l ay a RA C T d e t e r

m i n at i o nun t i l a f

t e r N o v e mb e r

2 0 1 1

. In any case , as demonstrated her ein, suffic ient information alre ady exis ts to show that cattle and da ir y op e ratio ns are signif

ic ant s ourc e s o f V OC e mis sio ns . III . THE M EN U- BA SED CO NT RO L STR AT EG Y I S NO T R

AC T. The Rule’s c ontrol strateg y allows an L CAF to selec t one or more measure s from ea ch of sever al proc ess-ba sed categ ories to include in the e mission m itigation plan. This sche me allows for L CAFs to choose measure s that do not achieve the g reatest reduc tion among a g iven c ate g or y ’s po te nti a l c on tr ols . F or e xamp le , th e c ate g or

y “ Cattl e ho us ingor

c or ra l pr a c tic e s” require s 6 out of 11 potential controls. SeeFinal Dr aft Staff Report at Ta

ble 2, Section E. F or liquid manure, an ope rator must only choose 1 out of 6 options. See I d . at Table 2, Section G.
In none of the eig ht categ ories does the Rule require an owne r or ope rator of a dair y fac ility to implement more than 50% of the listed prac tices. Nor doe s the rule r equire owner s or op e rator s to se le c t th e mos t e ff e c tiv e me a sure s.Ms. Fra

nces Wicher

and Mr. Andr ew Stecke l Comments on P roposed Ac tion on Rul e 4570, the 2004 SI P, the 2008 SI P Cl arific ation, and the 2 0 0 3 S t at e S tra t egy August 31, 2009

Pag e 8 of 11 The District c oncede s that operators will select the lea st-costly options, which will not nece ssarily

be the most eff

ective. G iven the opportunity to develop “c afe teria- sty le” mitiga tion plans under the proposed Rule, owne rs and ope rators w ill li kely adopt those mea sures that a re easie st and che apest to implement. SeeFinal Dr aft Staff Report, Appendix B at B -4. EPAha s inte rp re te d RA CT a s “ the low e st e mis sio n li mit atio n th at a pa rt ic ula r s ourc e is capa ble of mee ting by

the application of technolog y that is reasona

bly available considering technolog ical and e conomic fe asibility .” 57 F ed. Reg . at 13541. The r egulations impl ementing the Clean Air A ct def

ine RACT as “de vices, sy stems, proce ss modifications, or other a pparatus or techniques that are rea sonably available takinginto account the ne cessity of imposing suc h c on tr ols in o rd e r t o atta in a nd ma int a in a

natio na l ambi e nt a ir

qu a lity sta nd ard , th e so c ia l, environmenta l, and ec onomic impact of such c ontrols, and alter native mea

ns of providingfor attainment and maintena

nce of such standar d.” 40 C.F.R. § 51.100(o)

. Th e pr op os e d Ru le is i nc on sis te nt w iththe pla in l angua g e of the Cle an A ir

Ac t. T he Rul e as propose d does not requir e that oper ators comply with all RA CT. Rathe r, the Rul e me re ly require s operators to select a handful of me asure s from seve ral dozen. More over, be cause the Rule consists of mostly

exis ting pr actice s, the Rule turns on which mea sures a re c onvenient and se rv e the e c on omi c int e re sts of da ir y op e ra tor s n ot, a s RA CT r e qu ir e s, on wh ic h me a sure s reduce ozone formingpollution. The Rule does not meet the RACT standard be cause the Rule allows L CAFs to adopt emission mitigation plans that use the le ast string ent options.
IV . THE RUL E IM P RO P ERLYTA KES C RE DI T F OR VO C RED UC TIO NS F RO M AN EM ISSI ON BA SELI NE THA T IN CL UD ES C ON TR OLS. The rule claims a 10% r eduction in VOC emissions from fa cility -wide D airy , Be ef Fe edlot, and Other

Cattle fac ility

emissions as a re sult of compliance w ith menu option A.1 (fee d acc ordingto National Resea rch Council Guidelines)

. See Staff Report Appe ndix B at B-7, B -13, B- 17. The Rule should not take a ny cre dit for this practice , as it is alrea dy ref lected in the emission factor ba seline. Allowingcre dit for the pra ctice a nd allowingoperators to select option A.1 as a require d control is thus arbitrar y and ca pricious and a

n abuse of

discretion. The da iry cows studied by

Dr. F rank Mitloehner

at the Univer sity

of California, D avis and the c ow s at th e da ir ie s st

ud ie d b y Dr . Chuc k Sc hmi dt w e re fe d r atio ns that me t N RC guid e lin e s,Ms. Fra

nces Wicher

and Mr. Andr ew Stecke l Comments on P roposed Ac tion on Rul e 4570, the 2004 SI P, the 2008 SI P Cl arific ation, and the 2 0 0 3 S t at e S tra t egy August 31, 2009

Seeelec tronic mail from Dr . Fr ank Mitloehner, dated J une 9, 2006 and e lectronic mail from 19 Patrick Ga ffne y , Air Resourc es B oard, dated J une 9, 2006, attac hed as Exhibit 13. Memorandum f

rom Bill Powers to B rent Ne well, dated June 12, 2006 (“Powe rs Memo”) at 20 6, attache d as Exh. 14. Pag e 9 of 11 which menu option A.1 re quires. As a re sult, the emission factor de rived fr om their rese arc h 19 alre ady includes a r eduction – if a ny – from cow s fed a

ration that mee ts NRC guidelines. The pr ob le m w iththe Rul e a lso a ff e c ts the c la ime d r e du c tio ns fo r b e e f c attl e fe e dlo ts a nd oth e r c attl e op e ratio ns sin c e Di str ic t st a ff e xtra po late d f ro m th e da ir

y c owe mis sio ns data

to e sti mate emissions from Be ef F eedlot and O ther Cattle L CAFs. See S taf f R epo rtApp end ix B at B-1 2, B17. Th e Di str ic t im

pr op e rl y c la ims a 10 % r e du c tio n o f f

a c ili ty -w ide VO C e mis sio ns be c a us e c ow s f e d a c c or din gto N RC G uid e lin e s are already re flected in the base line emission factor

. There fore , the re duction amounts to double counting and ar tificially inflates the c ontrol eff ectivene ss of the rule. Sin c e the Di str ic t c ann ot t ake c re dit fo r t he re du c tio ns fr om u sin gfe e d th at me e ts t he NR C g uid e lin e s, the tot a l r e du c tio ns fr om D a ir y and B e e f F e e dlo t L CA F s sh ou ld d ro p f ro m 36 % t o 26%. See Staff Report Appe ndix B at Table 3. Reduc tions from Other Cattle L CAFs should drop fr om 4 2% to 3 2% To ta l claimed VOC reduc tions from the Rule would drop fr om 7,563 tons per y ear (21 tons per da

y ) to 5,632 tons per year

(15.5 tons per da

y ). Id . EPA approva l of emission reduc tions from fee d manipulation would be ar bitrary and ca pricious bec ause the re is no evide nce sug g esting that such re ductions in fact oc cur. V. THE D ISTRIC T HA S F AI LED TO D EM ON STR AT E THA T THE EM ISSI ON RE DU CT ION S F RO M RU LE 4 57 0 A RE RE AL AN D Q UA NT IF IA BLE. Rule 4570 codifies e x isting pra ctices a nd, there fore , will not gene rate emission reduc tions. The District a dmits t hat many of the c ontrol measure s are curr ently being 20 implemented. SeeF ina l D ra ft Sta ff Re po rt , App e nd ix B at B -4 . T he Di str ic t de fe nd s it s sc he me as an a nti-backslidingmeasure that will ensure that c urre nt voluntary prac tices ar e not aba

ndoned. Id . T he a pp ro a c h th at th e Di str ic t ha s ta ke n v iol ate s th e statut or

y re qu ir e me nt t

hat th e Rul e mus t reduceemissions. The proposed Rule will result in maintenanc e of c urre nt emissions l evels, not re du c tio ns .Ms. Fra

nces Wicher

and Mr. Andr ew Stecke l Comments on P roposed Ac tion on Rul e 4570, the 2004 SI P, the 2008 SI P Cl arific ation, and the 2 0 0 3 S t at e S tra t egy August 31, 2009

Powers Memo at 1. 21 Id . at 2-4. 22 Pag e 10 of 11 As de mon str ate d b y

the atta c he d Po we rs Me mo, the Di str ic t gue sse s o r a pp lie s a de fa ult emission reduction estimate to come up with what appe ars to be a n impressive 36% r eduction of smog- formingVOC emissions from dairy operations. Of that 36%, 11.2% is the re sult of a defa ult emission reduction and 24% c omes from guesses. Approva l of the Rule with fictitious 21 re du c tio ns ba se d o n c omm on ly -u se d in du str y pr a c tic e s w ou ld b e arb itr ary and c a pr ic iou s: the va st majority of controls have no fa ctual support whatsoever. 22
VI. CONCLUSION. For the re asons set for

th above, EPA should disapprove the RACT demonstration for da iry and cattle operations and not allow the District’s 2004 SI P to take cre dit for the VOC re ductions from Rule 4570. Thank you for your time, consider ation, and ef fort.

S i n c e r e l y,

B re nt N e we ll, L e g a l D ir e c tor Sa l Pa rt ida , Co -C ha ir Ce nte r o n Ra c e , Po ve rt

y & the Envir onme nt Committe e fo r a B e tte r Arv in

Tom Fra ntz, P resident Avinash Ka r, Attorney As so c iatio n o f I

rr itate d Re sid e nts Natur a l Re so ur c e s D e fe ns e Counc ilMs. Fra

nces Wicher

and Mr. Andr ew Stecke l Comments on P roposed Ac tion on Rul e 4570, the 2004 SI P, the 2008 SI P Cl arific ation, and the 2 0 0 3 S t at e S tra t egy August 31, 2009

Pag e 11 of 11 Gar y Rodrigue z, S ecr etar

y J esus J aime, President South S ha ft e r P ro

je c t Co mmi tte e Sha ft e r C ha pte r L e a g ue of

Un ite d L atin Americ an Citezens LULAC

Renee Nelson, President Fr ancisc o Martines Clean Water a

nd Air Matter Comit é Unido de Plainview

Gu a da lup e Nuñe z Irm a Me de lli n L a Voz de Tony

ville El Quinto Sol de Amer ica

Saul Morales Lucy Her nandez L a Nue va Esper anza de Alpa ug h Comit é West Goshen

Eunice Ma

rtinez Un ite d f or a Cha ng e in T oo le vil le