April 17, 2006

The Philadelphia Diesel Difference - Working Group Meeting
Delaware Valley Regional Planning Commission (DVRPC)
190 North Independence Mall West,
8th Floor,
Philadelphia, PA 19106

IN ATTENDANCE:
Emily Bockian Landsburg, The Energy Cooperative/Philadelphia Fry-O-Diesel
Eric Cheung, Clean Air Council
Fred Cummings, Philadelphia International Airport
Morris Fine, AMS
Kirt Flowers, Amtrak
Sean Greene, DVRPC
John Hadalski, City of Philadelphia
Darlene Heep, City of Philadelphia
Sean Jacobs, Clean Air Council
Jack LeBeau, EHRF
Susan McDowell, EPA Region III
Vincent O'Grady, Center for Environmental Policy, University of Delaware
Kelly Sheckler, EPA Region III
Brinda Shetty, Greater Philadelphia Clean Cities
Alison Tracy, AMS
Susan Wierman, MARAMA
Barbara Wilson, Krapf Bus Company

MINUTES TAKEN BY:
Alison Tracy

INTRODUCTIONS AND ANNOUNCEMENTS:
Morris welcomed the group and today's presenter, MARAMA Director Susan Wierman. He informed the group that this Thursday, April 20th at 2:00pm, a meeting of the City's Air Pollution Control Board will be held at 1101 Market Street, 8th Floor, Office of the Health Commissioner. Anyone from the Diesel Difference Working Group is welcome to attend. Morris also announced that the City has a new Interim Health Commissioner, former Deputy Health Commissioner Carmen Paris. Former Health Commissioner Joanne Godley has left the Department of Health to take another position.
The City's Fleet vehicles are now using ULSD fuel in accordance with a recent consent decree with the Sunoco Corporation. $400,000 worth of fuel will be supplied over the next few months, and will hopefully sustain the fleet until September, when ULSD becomes mandatory nationwide for on-road use.

PHILADELPHIA DIESEL DIFFERENCE ACTIVITIES UPDATE:
Eric described last weekend's 25th anniversary Clean Air 5K Run, which was highly successful, drawing roughly 1300 runners. Alison represented the Diesel Difference at a booth at the event, and two fleets-Asthma BUSters and SPC Corporation/Camden Iron and Metal, Inc.-were given plaques to honor their platinum-level status as part of the Diesel Difference recognition program. Colin Cleary of Asthma BUSters and Cynthia McKeown of SPC were on hand to accept the awards.

Unfortunately, the Walt Whitman Truck Stop will be closing as its lease has not been renewed. As a result, PADEP is now canceling the AFIG and Energy Harvest grants that had been awarded to establish a truck stop electrification project. PDD will work to identify other potential partners, possibly the Food Distribution Center or the PA Turnpike Commission, for a similar project elsewhere in the Philadelphia Area.

Sean Greene spoke briefly about plans for the upcoming Ozone Kickoff on May 12th. The event will be held at the Independence Mall Information Center at 6th and Market Streets and will begin at 11:00 am. There will be 10-12 information tables as part of the event's Clean Air Fair, and we hope to present award(s) to one or more fleets through the Diesel Difference Recognition Program. The event will help raise awareness about Ozone Monitoring, Air Quality Action Alerts, and their implications for public health. An invitation list is being compiled from Diesel Difference attendance lists from the past 6 months.

A number of Earth Day events are happening around the region, including one at Temple's Ambler Campus called Earth Fest. Eric will leave PDD materials at the event.

Eric described recent improvements to the PDD website, including the main page and calendar which are now more user-friendly.

More than a dozen fleets have submitted written commitments to initiate diesel retrofitting projects contingent on funding opportunities, comprising over 5,000 vehicles.
Last month, Eric informed the group that an organization has formed in the Carlisle area that is similar to the Diesel Difference group in that it is a stakeholder group that hopes to support clean diesel projects in that area. The one major difference between the groups is that the Carlisle group will be mainly concerned with highway emissions whereas the PDD addresses a variety of on- and off-road sources. As a related effort, Clean Air Council has been working on initiating voluntary anti-idling programs across the five-county area (except for areas inside the city limits which must already abide by idling regulations) and the rest of the state.

John Hadalski suggested naming our committed fleets on our website as an added incentive for new fleets to make commitments. There was some discussion about recognition for fleets that have committed but have not initiated retrofit projects, and about criteria for recognition. Eric reviewed the process for recognition, including the use of the Carl Moyer Program's emissions reduction calculator, which is simpler and easier to use than the EPA calculator (which is no longer available). Morris cautioned that we will need to go back and review whether PDD's original written procedures for recognizing fleets need to be formally changed. Eric hopes to recognize Amtrak at the upcoming Ozone Kickoff event. Kelly Sheckler noted that there is one person at EPA charged with contacting fleets for information about their vehicles, and that this information can be shared with PDD. Eric reminded the group that almost any clean diesel project can be recognized at the Silver level, so projects with non-quantifiable reductions are sill eligible for that level of recognition.

Morris answered a question regarding Idling Enforcement. AMS and the City's Parking Authority both give tickets for idling violations, but PPA has more staff to devote to the effort. Overall, several hundred citations have been issued since the PPA joined our anti-idling effort last year.

PDD SUBCOMMITTEE REPORTS:
Sean Jacobs updated the group on the progress with the Ports Task Force, and reminded the group that the next Task Force meeting will be held today at 1:00 after the Workgroup meeting. He announced that CAC has obtained a commitment from Packer Terminal to initiate retrofits, and are currently waiting to receive their fleet inventory. The next step will be to work with vendors to determine which units can be retrofitted. Sean and Eric also toured the port recently to get a better idea of what kinds of operations exist there. Sean plans to hold a Task Force meeting at the port in May or June. Finally, Sean reiterated that CAC and EPA have planned a Mid-Atlantic Clean Ports Workshop on May 10th at the Bellvue Park Hyatt Hotel. All PDD members are welcome to attend the event. There is no fee to attend but registration is required.

Morris added that the Air Pollution Control Board is planning on holding a future meeting at a port facility. Darlene also noted that some unannounced mayoral candidates may be interested in attending the Ports Workshop, and she suggested extending invitations to them.

MONTHLY PRESENTATION:
Susan Wierman gave a presentation about the newly-formed Mid-Atlantic Diesel Collaborative, which kicked off on February 28th, 2006. Ms. Wierman is the Executive Director of MARAMA, the Mid Atlantic Regional Air Management Association, of which the Philadelphia Department of Health (via Air Management Services) is a member. The Collaborative is designed to support clean diesel projects throughout the Mid-Atlantic Region through direct funding as well as networking, training and other educational/outreach activities. Ms. Wierman thanked the Diesel Difference for its support and hard work in promoting the use of clean diesel technology, and noted that PDD activities are often used as examples of success in the diesel arena.

The Collaborative has five workgroups, which Diesel Difference members are welcome and encouraged to join: Ports, School Buses, Construction, Freight, and Urban Fleets. Ms. Wierman discussed some regional efforts such as anti-idling laws in Philadelphia and Pittsburgh, as well as initiatives at the Baltimore and Norfolk ports. A significant amount of funding is expected in the next Federal budget for diesel projects, from the Diesel Emissions Reduction Act (DERA) in addition to Congestion Mitigation and Air Quality (CMAQ) Grants. The Collaborative has also received a grant to fund Auxiliary Power Units (APUs) for small trucking operations, which was written in conjunction with five states and the District of Columbia. In the future, the Collaborative hopes to recruit more partners, tap into more funding sources, and sponsor more training, research, and networking opportunities.

John Hadalski noted that information about Environmental Management Systems would be valuable in this area. Jack LeBeau then brought up the PA Clean Vehicles legislation, though Ms. Wierman stated that the Collaborative does not involve itself too deeply in political activities. However, much support exists for using California vehicle standards. Morris then briefed the group on the status of the legislation to repeal the PA Clean Vehicles program, which passed in February in the State Senate and is currently in House Committee.

NEXT MEETING AND LOCATION:
The next meeting will be held May 15, 2006 at DVRPC.