February 13, 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:
Madina Alharazim, Amtrak
Brett Alkins, Johnson Matthey Catalysts
Jim Black, Clean Air Council
Francine Carlini, PA DEP
Eric Cheung, Clean Air Council/PDD
Morris Fine, AMS/PDD
Kirt Flowers, Amtrak
Sean Greene, DVRPC
Joseph Grinkewicz, School District Of Philadelphia, Transportation
John Hadalski, City of Philadelphia
Sean Jacobs, Clean Air Council
Jack LeBeau, E Global Solutions
Lisa Magee, Philadelphia Regional Port Authority
Perry Pandya, U.S. EPA Region III
Brinda Shetty, Greater Philadelphia Clean Cities
Tom Sopko, O2Diesel Corp
Alison Tracy, AMS

MINUTES TAKEN BY:
Alison Tracy

INTRODUCTIONS AND ANNOUNCEMENTS:
Morris welcomed the group and thanked them for braving the snow to be here today. He reported that a Request For Proposals (RFP) for the next round of CARE grants has been announced by EPA. Eric clarified that the Diesel Difference is not eligible because we have already received a 2-year Level 1 Grant under this program. PDD will be applying for Level 2 funds in fiscal year 2007.

The city has finalized procedures with the School District to subsidize the purchase of Ultra Low Sulfur Diesel, using funding provided by a consent agreement with Sunoco. The subsidy is intended to last until ULSD becomes mandatory in the fall of this year. Currently, the School District is drafting a resolution to accept the subsidy, which will hopefully be approved at the School Board's next Reform Committee meeting. It is anticipated that the subsidy will go into use in early- to mid-March. The School District's Communications Department already has the information, and Joe Grinkewicz will follow up on the possibility of issuing a press release announcing the subsidy. It was noted that because of the ULSD subsidy provided by Sunoco, the School District is considering diverting its funding provided under the VEPCO agreement from ULSD purchasing to retrofitting of school buses. Joe Grinkewicz said the District is expecting to obtain new vehicles next year which will be retrofitted, and that warranty guarantees have already been established.

In related news, the consent decree between the city and Sunoco Global providing funding for both ULSD and retrofit kits for City vehicles is not yet available, because the court has not yet entered the decree. The judge is tied up with another trial, and the entry could be delayed up to another month.

President Bush's budget, issued last week, proposed $50 million in funding for programs supported under the Diesel Emissions Reduction Act (DERA). However, the President's proposal also cuts $35 million from state and local environmental grant programs. Morris will be participating in a conference call this afternoon with STAPPA/ALAPCO, a national association of local and state air agencies, to obtain additional information. The Diesel Difference will be working to bring as much funding as possible from both these grant sources to the Philadelphia area. John Hadalski asked Morris to go into more detail about what grants could be cut under the President's budget. Morris explained that 105 Grants (named for Section 105 of the Clean Air Act) provide funding for DEP, AMS and other state and local agencies for environmental activities. Money is also available through 103 Grants for monitoring. Both are now subject to cuts.

Morris also mentioned a recent report by STAPPA/ALAPCO that addresses the impact of marine and locomotive diesel engines on air quality. Their analysis is similar to one done by Alvaro last year, but is a national-level study rather than a regional one. The report looks at the contribution of locomotive and marine diesel fleets on human health outcomes, and calls for EPA to implement controls on these off-road engines by 2011. The document is available on the STAPPA/ALAPCO website.

At the last meeting, Air Management requested the Working Group's input on a letter that has now been sent to CEOs of companies in the Philadelphia area to solicit statements of interest from corporate fleets for implementing clean diesel projects. One response has been received so far, from Sysco Food Distribution. This fleet is comprised of roughly 200 vehicles, and Eric looks forward to following up with Sysco to urge them to initiate their own project since funding for private fleet retrofits is not yet available.

PHILADELPHIA DIESEL DIFFERENCE ACTIVITIES UPDATE:
Eric updated the group on recent outreach efforts to urge local fleets to sign the Diesel Difference "soft" commitment statement indicating their interest in initiating a diesel project. So far, Eric and Alison have met with Public Works Officials from six townships: Abington, Swarthmore, Conshohocken, Douglass, New Hanover, and Skippack. More visits are scheduled for this week. So far, all have expressed interest in signing on. After contacting all the municipalities in Montgomery County, Eric plans to move on to Bucks and Delaware. One concern that some municipal contacts have is whether the retrofits could cause maintenance problems or loss of engine performance, especially during critical times such as snowstorms when trucks are used to their full capacity. Eric will put these townships in touch with our vendors to offer technical expertise and assure them that retrofits will not affect their ability to provide municipal services. In addition to individual meetings with municipalities, Eric will also be attending some larger public works meetings, such as the Delaware Valley Association of School Bus Officials. As Morris noted earlier, the CEOs letter has also had some success as Sysco has already submitted a commitment form. John Hadalski said he would forward to Eric a contact for a national organization called the American Public Works Association, which may hold meetings in the area.

Eric updated the group on the status of the Walt Whitman Truck Stop electrification project. We were informed a few weeks ago by David Silverman that the Truck Stop has been selected as a potential site for one of the city's new casino facilities, and that there is a possibility that the Truck Stop could be sold to a developer. Casino sites will not be finalized until December of this year. In the meantime, a letter has been sent to Arleen Shulman of PADEP, the administrator of the Energy Harvest Grant that would be used for the electrification project, informing her of the situation. We are awaiting DEP's response. The news may also jeopardize the AFIG grant which had been proposed as a source of matching funds for the project. It is important to note that even if the casino project materializes, construction will not begin for a few years; and, if the electrification project were to move forward, about 60% of the costs could be recouped if the infrastructure were moved to another location.

Finally, a CMAQ Workshop has been confirmed for March 10th at DVRPC. Eric and Dawn Fenton of Diesel Technology Forum will be speaking to local county planners about how to use CMAQ funds for clean diesel projects.

PDD SUBCOMMITTEE REPORTS:
Eric addressed members of the Criteria Committee regarding adaptations to the calculation method for determining what recognition level each fleet has achieved. Unfortunately, there has been some difficulty in obtaining the necessary information from each fleet, and a simplified methodology might be needed to get each fleet recognized. Sean Greene noted that planning is now being done for Ozone Action Day activities, which could include recognition for fleets. The group agreed to hold a conference call at a later date to discuss ways to simplify the process, so that fleet recognition can occur in time for Ozone Action events.

Sean Jacobs reminded the group of the Ports Subcommittee meeting, scheduled for 1:00 pm. He reported that Clean Air Council has met with three terminal operators including Packer-which has a large diesel fleet-and is obtaining inventory lists from each. Sean is also conducting outreach to community groups, including the Whitman Civic Association. Alice Bright-Bailey, community liaison for DEP, will also be attending today's afternoon meeting.

MONTHLY PRESENTATION:
Lisa Magee gave a presentation on her organization, the Philadelphia Regional Port Authority. PRPA was created in the 1990s as an agency independent from the city. It is funded by the state, and acts as a "landlord" to operators dealing with ships and intermodal transfer at 13 public and municipal terminals in the tri-county area. She discussed the various types of cargo that come through the port, as well as current and planned expansion projects. She then fielded some questions regarding PRPA's relationship with tenants, future expansion, and dredging. She replied that she has been working with Sean on contacting port operators, and that she would pass along to Morris a summary of environmental activities/plans to date for the city's reference. In response to questions about development, she said that PIDC took possession of excess Navy Yard parcels when the military left, that no major expansion is planned for Tioga, and that if and when dredging to 45 feet is approved, there will probably not be a subsequent push for a 50-foot dredge since bridges are too low to accommodate ships large enough to require that depth. When asked about security, Lisa replied that facilities are not simply open to the general public, and that security measures restrict access. She also noted that no petroleum comes through PRPA's terminals-only through private ones.

GENERAL COMMENTS:
Eric reminded the group that the Mid-Atlantic Diesel Collaborative Kickoff is still set for the 28th of February. Please contact Paula Krall of EPA with any questions. In addition, Bret noted that EPA is holding public comment on PM2.5 standards. Clean Air Council will be commenting.

NEXT MEETING AND LOCATION:
The next meeting will be held March 20, 2006 at DVRPC.