Philadelphia Diesel Difference Working Group Minutes

February 20, 2004

The Philadelphia Diesel Difference - Working Group Meeting
Alliance/Diesel Engine Transformations
450 East Luzerne Street
Philadelphia, PA 19124

IN ATTENDANCE:

Brett Alkins, Johnson Matthey.
Kevin Benson, Fleetguard Emissions.
April Birnbaum, Air Management Services, Department of Public Health, Philadelphia.
William Campbell, Seasoned Energy.
Ray Chalmers, US EPA, Region III.
Roy Deitchman, Amtrak.
Morris Fine, Air Management Services, Department of Public Health, Philadelphia.
Aaron Firestone, Clean Air Council.
Kirt Flowers, Amtrak Automotive Group.
Lionel Gillston, Diesel Engine Transformations.
Abey John, Diesel Engine Transformations.
Jack Lebeau, Rentar Environmental Solutions.
Mike McClurkin, PA Turnpike Commission.
Deborah McNeal, Sunoco.
Bill Miller, Temple University, Civil Engineering.
Robert Neff, PA Turnpike Commission.
Ron Pacitti, Diesel Engine Transformations.
Lonnie Richmond, MD Department of the Environment.
Jeff Rosen, Rentar Environmental Solutions.
Larry Rosen, Rentar Environmental Solutions.
Bill Ross, Sprague Energy.
Richard Ross, School District of Philadelphia.
Thomas Sandin, EkoBalans.
Tim Shepard, MD Department of the Environment.
Arleen Shulman, PA DEP.
Kevin Snape, Lubrizol.


INTRODUCTIONS:

Mr. Morris Fine, Director of Air Management Services, Department of Public Health, City of Philadelphia, welcomed all in attendance. He thanked Alliance/Diesel Engine Transformations for the use of their facility as a meeting venue and for providing refreshments. Mr. Fine reminded the Working Group that the Diesel Difference Charter has been distributed electronically and to please have the highest-ranking representative of your organization as possible endorse the document. Please send your endorsements, including the name, title, and organization of the signatory, to Ms. April Birnbaum at April.Birnbaum@phila.gov.

Mr. Fine alerted the Diesel Difference to a number of important funding updates. First, he noted the EPA's recent announcement that its Clean School Bus USA program, which began in April 2003, is slated to receive an increase in funding from $5 million to $65 million under President Bush's forthcoming budget proposal for Fiscal Year 2005. This additional funding will aid in the implementation of clean diesel technologies on a greater number of school buses nationwide, including those in the Greater Philadelphia area. The Philadelphia Diesel Difference Initiative encourages all school bus fleets in our region to apply for such funding, as it becomes available. The Diesel Difference will compile a registry of interested fleets and aims to utilize this list in order to apply for funding for multiple school district clean diesel technology projects. It is important to note that as a result of the Clean School Bus USA funding increase, federal enforcement settlements that incorporate supplemental environmental projects earmarked for retrofit projects will not offer funding for the implementation of clean diesel technologies on school buses. This is to insure that federal grant programs do not compete with one another. Nevertheless, the Diesel Difference will continue to assist in the facilitation of grant applications for clean diesel technology proposals and update you as to any upcoming Clean School Bus USA funding opportunities. For more information, please refer to the Clean School Bus USA website at http://www.epa.gov/cleanschoolbus and the Philadelphia Diesel Difference's website at http://www.cleanair.org/dieseldifference.

Second, Mr. Fine announced that a request for proposals for the EPA/DOJ-Toyota Motor Corporation settlement, which will spend $20 million on a supplemental environmental project to retrofit an estimated 3,000 public diesel fleet vehicles, will be announced in the near future. Third, Mr. Fine noted that a request for proposals for the EPA's $20,000 allotted to the Diesel Difference for air toxics mitigation will be issued within the coming weeks. The Criteria Sub-Committee will establish the application guidelines and send the RFP to the Working Group via e-mail.

As a point of interest, Mr. Fine also announced that the Diesel Difference is in the process of procuring approval from the US General Services Administration (GSA) to install clean diesel technologies onto diesel powered vehicles that are leased from GSA by local fleets such as Amtrak and the US Postal Service.

A national retrofit convention will occur in early June in Washington, D.C., which will be similar to the Greater Philadelphia Diesel Difference's Kick-Off Event, held in May 2003. For more information, please refer to the EPA's Voluntary Diesel Retrofit Program News and Events Website, located at http://www.epa.gov/otaq/retrofit/latestnews.htm.

The 2004 Clean Energy Expo will take place on April 2nd and 3rd at Penn State's Bryce Jordan Center, located in central Pennsylvania. For more information, please refer to http://www.wppsef.org/cee/.

CLEAN DIESEL TECHNOLOGY OF THE MONTH:

For our February presentation, Mr. Lionel Gillston discussed the GreenCoat technology. GreenCoat is an in-cylinder catalytic coating, designed to improve combustion efficiency by reducing the ignition lag and peak engine temperature. Benefits claimed from GreenCoat may include increased fuel efficiency and reductions in particulate matter, hydrocarbons, carbon monoxide, opacity, and noise. Please contact Lionel Gillston at LionelMG@comcast.net for more information on the GreenCoat technology.


TECHNICAL SUB-COMMITTEE:

As a result of the Diesel Difference Organizational Structure accepted by the Working Group in January 2004, a proposal to establish a sub-committee dedicated to providing technical support associated with the implementation and promotion of clean diesel technologies was offered, in order to assume adequate representation of all groups participating in the Diesel Difference. Attached is a copy of a Technical Sub-Committee straw proposal that was distributed on February 20, 2004. Please send all comments in regards to this proposal to Ms. April Birnbaum at April.Birnbaum@phila.gov.


CORPORATE SPONSORSHIP REPORT:

Ms. April Birnbaum presented a report from the Corporate Sponsorship Sub-Committee in Mr. Bill Coughlin's absentia. The Corporate Sponsorship Sub-committee has been working diligently on numerous initiatives and is making substantial progress on its programmatical development. Attached is a copy of the Corporate Sponsorship Report that was presented on February 20, 2004.


MOBILE SOURCE EMISSIONS REDUCTION CREDIT REPORT:

Ms. April Birnbaum, Chair of the Sub-Committee on Mobile Source Emissions Reduction Credits, presented a report for the Sub-Committee on Mobile Source Emissions Reduction Credits. Mr. Kevin Snape discussed the introductory modeling that Lubrizol conducted for the emissions reduction credits resulting from an actual diesel retrofit project and their associated market value. He profiled the Shalcross Depot of the School District of Philadelphia, for which the implementation of diesel oxidation catalysts would produce a reduction in 0.322 tons/year of particulate matter and the implementation of particulate filters and ultra low sulfur diesel fuel would produce a reduction in 1.160 tons/year of particulate matter. A ton of particulate matter can sell for up to forty three thousand dollars a ton. Assuming that the market value for PM will not decrease substantially, the payback from a credit would be approximately eight years, in order to compensate for the cost of the clean diesel technology installation.

In the case of an actual credit program, we would need to ensure that the emission reduction credits are quantifiable, surplus, permanent, and enforceable, as well as that the retrofitted vehicles remain within an affected non-attainment area. Permanence could be evaluated on a quarterly basis, in order to capture a more accurate assessment of the status of retrofitted vehicles. A question was also raised as to who would own the credits resulting from the installation of clean diesel technologies. The Mobile Source Emissions Reduction Credit Sub-Committee will schedule a conference call before the March Diesel Difference meeting to tackle these issues and develop a test case for mobile source particulate matter trading in our region.


AMENDMENT TO ORGANIZATIONAL STRUCTURE:

Attached is a copy of the Draft Amendment to the Diesel Difference Organizational Structure that was distributed on February 20, 2004. Please send all comments in regards to this proposal to Ms. April Birnbaum at April.Birnbaum@phila.gov.


NEXT MEETING AND LOCATION:

The next Diesel Difference Workgroup Meeting will be held from 10 AM until 12 PM on March 17, 2004 at the Delaware Valley Regional Planning Commission's Pennsylvania/New Jersey Room, The Bourse Building, 111 S. Independence Mall East, 8th Floor, Philadelphia, PA 19106.
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