Philadelphia Diesel Difference Working Group Minutes

May 15, 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
Jim Black, Clean Air Council
Ken Brown, University of Pennsylvania
Francine Carlini, PADEP
Eric Cheung, Clean Air Council
Fred Cummings, Philadelphia International Airport
Morris Fine, AMS
Kirt Flowers, Amtrak
Sean Greene, DVRPC
Joe Grinkewicz, Philadelphia School District
Darlene Heep, City of Philadelphia
Jack LeBeau, EHRF
Tim Lynch, Fleet Management
Susan McDowell, EPA Region III
Fred Pourkay, Philadelphia International Airport, Planning
Rick Roger, O2Diesel
Jack Schweitzer, Amtrak
Alison Tracy, AMS
Barbara Wilson, Krapf Bus Company

MINUTES TAKEN BY:
Alison Tracy

INTRODUCTIONS AND ANNOUNCEMENTS:
Morris welcomed the group and noted that the agenda would change slightly since Eric has not yet arrived. He congratulated DVRPC on a stellar Ozone Action Kickoff, held last Friday at the Independence Mall Visitors Center. Several PDD members sponsored tables at the event, and North Penn and Amtrak were both given Platinum level recognition for their use of retrofit and clean fuel technology on their fleet vehicles. Morris also congratulated Kirt Flowers, who was nominated by the Association of American Railroads for a John Chafee Environmental Excellence Award for his work in promoting environmental stewardship in the railroad industry.

Another issue of note on the agenda for today is the discussion of appropriate PDD logo use by outside groups. Earlier this month, PDD was approached by PECO, who requested permission to use the PDD logo on a small fleet of hybrid diesel vehicles it has obtained using PEDA funding. The Executive Committee discussed the issue and determined that the logo could be used as part of this project. However, it was suggested that the Charter text be revisited to clarify that the logo can be used in conjunction with technologies that improve air quality but are not necessarily verified by a government entity. Later in the meeting, we will entertain input on how the logo can be used.

The Philadelphia School District is now using ULSD and will soon begin invoicing the Clean Air Council for a partial reimbursement for the fuel. Joe Grinkewicz added that the District will also be using VEPCO funds to retrofit roughly 75 buses with Diesel Oxidation Catalysts by this summer.

Morris updated the group on the status of Air-Quality related items pending in the federal budget. Most recently, the House Appropriations Committee increased the amount allocated to State and Federal Monitoring to equate with last year's levels, but decreased the amount given for diesel retrofits to $23 million. Brett added that the number was increase to $26 million at the last minute. Morris thanked anyone in the group who may have written a support letter to Congress urging full funding for air monitoring.

PHILADELPHIA DIESEL DIFFERENCE ACTIVITIES UPDATE:
Eric arrived and updated the group on the Committed Fleets database. Currently, there are 3 municipalities, 7 private fleets, and 4 school bus fleets signed on, totaling 6000 vehicles. Packer Terminal is also expected to provide a list of its off-road vehicles soon. Eric has several more meetings scheduled before the end of the month which hopefully will yield more commitments.

PDD was represented at several events recently, notably Earth Day festivities at Temple University and in Old City. There was also a PDD table at last week's Ports Workshop. Eric will also soon be updating the website, which has not changed its template since 2003 and has become somewhat difficult to navigate. Web traffic has also increased to roughly 300 hits per month.

PDD SUBCOMMITTEE REPORTS:
Again, two fleets were recognized at last week's Ozone Kickoff: Amtrak and North Penn. Calculations were done using the Carl Moyer Porgram's calculator, which has simplified the recognition process. We hope to queue up more fleets to recognize at future events, such as the Philadelphia School District and Fleet Management.

There is no Ports Task Force meeting today because Sean Jacobs is still busy wrapping up details from last week's Mid-Atlantic Ports Workshop, which was planned by CAC and sponsored by EPA. Many PDD members were present, and Morris gave a presentation on grants that highlighted the work of the Diesel Difference. There were 120 attendees, many from the Philadelphia, New Jersey, and Wilmington Ports. Sean will give an update at the next Ports Task Force meeting which will be in June, following the Diesel Difference meeting.

Morris noted that funding will be coming available through the Mid Atlantic Diesel Collaborative for fleets. Sue McDowell said that five fleet partners have been working with EPA to apply some of this funding to purchase APUs. There is also a demonstration grant available to test and analyze various types of control technologies. The National Clean Diesel Campaign website is a great place to keep track of upcoming diesel grant opportunities.

LOGO DISCUSSION:
Morris passed out copies of a proposed revision to the PDD Charter regarding the organization's logo. In light of the recent request from PECO to include the logo on their hybrid diesel trucks, it was suggested that the language in the Charter that deals with the logo be revised to include non-verified technologies, rather than simply technologies that could be recognized under the PDD recognition program. Darlene Heep volunteered to draft new language, and the matter can be discussed further at the next meeting. There were no questions or comments.

GRANTS UPDATE:
Eric talked about CMAQ funding, which as most group members know is already available for diesel projects through local and regional planning organizations like DVRPC. CAC hopes to make presentations to both DVRPC's Regional Transportation Committee and its Good Movement Task Force at some point, in an effort to garner support for including clean diesel projects in the Transportation Implementation Plan (TIP). CAC and AMS have discussed the possibility of using Sunoco Settlement Funds already slated for diesel retrofits as matching funds for a future CMAQ project. Someone from City Planning would have to propose a retrofit project on the TIP, and the RTC would need to support the idea as well.

Other grants currently available include the NCDC Ports grant through CAC, the Energy Harvest grant through PADEP which recently opened, as well as PADEP's AFIG grant which is expected to open this summer. Clean Cities also recently opened a grant for anti-idling outreach, about which the Philadelphia chapter of Clean Cities should have more information. The next round of Clean School Bus USA funding should also be opening in a month, and MADC is preparing in advance with projects. Contact Sue Stevenson of MARAMA for more details.

MONTHLY PRESENTATION:
Two representatives from PHL gave a joint presentation. Planner Fred Pourkay's portion of the presentation discussed the VALE program and the current airport expansion. VALE, which stands for Voluntary Airport Low Emissions, is a grant program funded by FAA that finances air quality initiatives at airports in nonattainment areas. AMS has been in meetings with PHL and PADEP to discuss ways that projects might be placed on the State Implementation Plan (SIP) in order to qualify for VALE funding. VALE provides funding through two mechanisms: Airport Improvement Programs, which fund new vehicles with a low cost share, and Passenger Facility Charges, which have no cost share requirement and fund new or retrofitted vehicles. Various types of Alternative Fuel Vehicles can be funded, including ground service equipment.

Fred Cumming gave the second presentation, which addressed PHL's clean fuel objectives. He outlined the myriad of different vehicles and equipment at PHL, including the aircraft, trains, buses and other fleet vehicles that operate on site now, and potentially in the future. There has been discussion about expanding the use of CNG, and possibly implementing more hybrid or clean diesel vehicles. There have also been assessments done of private shuttle fleets, such as rental car vans, airline shuttles, and long term parking buses. Various clean diesel products are being looked at for future use, including biodiesel, O2Diesel, and ULSD. PHL is working with Clean Cities to identify fleets that might lend themselves to mitigation projects. Once that is completed, they will ask for increased involvement of Diesel Difference in helping facilitate the project.

NEXT MEETING AND LOCATION:
The next meeting will be held June 19, 2006 at DVRPC.