California Air Resources Board

California Environmental Protection Agency
1001 I Street, Sacramento, California 95814
Byron Sher Auditorium, 2nd Floor 

The full agenda for the September 19, 2019 CARB Board Meeting can be found here. 

19-8-1:  Public Meeting to Consider Research Contract with the University of California, Berkeley, Titled “Sources of On-Road Vehicle Emissions and their Impacts on Respiratory Disease Symptoms in California”

Regulations and technological upgrades have resulted in a steady decline in vehicle tailpipe emissions in California. However, despite the recent reductions in tailpipe emissions, some communities continue to be disproportionately exposed due to their proximity to heavily trafficked freeways and vehicular congestion, as well as their proximity to area-based traffic related exposure such as shopping centers, parking lots and distribution centers. Several studies have been published showing that communities exposed to these on-road emissions are at greater risk for respiratory disease exacerbations. Another important on-road source is non-exhaust emissions from tire and brake wear, which will become increasingly important as the benefits of implementation of tailpipe emission regulations become more widespread. The objective of this research is to quantify the relationship between on-road vehicle emissions including on-road non-exhaust pollutants and sub-acute respiratory disease symptoms.  The health endpoint studied, sub-acute respiratory disease symptoms, is represented in this project by the use of short-acting beta agonist (referred to as SABA) for the acute relief of respiratory disease symptoms, such as asthma and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). Health data was collected from June 2012 to May 2019 for 2,870 patients, in the major metropolitan areas of California. The number of SABA uses per person per day will be used as the analysis outcome.  Daily Land use regression models for pollutants and trace metals will be developed and analyzed with the health data using traditional environmental epidemiology models (e.g., linear mixed models) compared with advanced machine learning models (e.g., random forest models). The results can help the California Air Resources Board (CARB) identify communities with disproportionate exposures and identify sources of these exposures for possible mitigations strategies.  In addition, this information will be used to add respiratory disease symptoms as a health endpoint in CARB’s quantitative health impacts analysis.

19-8-2:  Public Meeting to Consider Research Contract with the University of California, Davis, Titled “Determinants of Medium and Heavy Duty Truck Fleet Turnover”

To attain air quality goals, GHG reduction targets, and clean energy requirements, California’s trucking fleet must transition to low-NOX technologies, alternative fuels, and zero emission vehicles wherever possible. The transportation sector is changing rapidly as new technologies for networked and autonomous vehicles, alternative fuels, fleet management, e-commerce and freight logistics are deployed. Wider application of these technologies may cause structural shifts in many industry sectors and alter related markets for transportation services. Assessing how these shifts will affect baseline patterns of truck fleet turnover is key to ensuring the effectiveness of the California Air Resources Board’s (CARB) incentive programs and the predictive accuracy of its transportation emissions modeling.  The objective of this study is to identify and evaluate the determinants of private-sector fleet turnover for medium and heavy-duty trucks operating in California in selected vehicle classifications and vocations. Building primarily on information directly collected from fleet turnover decision makers, advisors and industry stakeholders, this study seeks to better understand how private truck fleets operating in California decide what vehicles to acquire and dispose of, and when to buy, sell, reconfigure or scrap them. The influence of changing freight transportation technologies, regulatory programs and obstacles to fleet adoption of alternative-fuel vehicles will also be assessed. Results will be used to enhance CARB’s EMission FACtors (EMFAC) modeling of emissions from medium-and heavy-duty trucks and to inform incentive programs designed to alter prevailing patterns of vehicle acquisition and disposal.

19-8-3:  Public Meeting to Consider Membership to the Sustainable Transportation Energy Pathways Research Consortium at the University of California, Davis

The Board will consider approval of the membership to the Sustainable Transportation Energy Pathways (STEPS) Research Consortium at the University of California, Davis.  The four-year STEPS program membership will allow CARB to participate in the program’s workshops, symposia, and Board meetings that bring together the world’s leading automobile manufacturers, energy companies, and government agencies to understand sustainable vehicle and energy solutions.

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