September 10, 2007

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:
Jim Black, Clean Air Council
Ken Brown, University of Pennsylvania
Francine Carlini, PADEP
Eric Cheung, Clean Air Council
Fred Cummings, City of Philadelphia Division of Aviation
Megan Dougherty, USEPA
Anthony Erb, USEPA - Smartway
Tom Holl, Ransome CAT
Thomas Huynh, City of Philadelphia, Air Management Services
Sean Greene, DVRPC
Lisa MaGee, Philadelphia Regional Port Authority
Urszula Miezio, Johnson-Matthey
Robert Neff, PA Turnpike Commission
Dan Snowden, PennDOT
Alison Tracy, City of Philadelphia, Air Management Services
Barbara Wilson, Krapf Bus

MINUTES TAKEN BY:
Alison Tracy

INTRODUCTIONS AND ANNOUNCEMENTS:
Alison welcomed the group and announced that the Philadelphia School District has been recommended for funding in the amount of $293,000 by EPA for Clean School Bus USA Funds. Funds through the Sunoco settlement have also been received and are available for use, and installs should be scheduled soon for the 77 fire trucks included in the MDC grant. The AFIG grant is being finalized and funds should be available very soon. The CARE Ports project should now be complete.

Eric, Alison and Bill met with Waste Management to discuss a possible hydraulic hybrid project. Discussions are ongoing and Bill is working on setting up a webinar to review the technology.

AMS submitted a grant for Energy Efficiency products, in partnership with the Energy Coordinating Agency and The Reinvestment Fund. Although the grant does not cover diesel directly, it could support the construction of more green buildings which could incorporate plug-in stations for vehicles or other related technologies.

A number of important events have taken place recently. AMS held a meeting of the Air Pollution Control Board which was updated on the status of PDD programs. The first meeting of the Steering Committee for the Goods Movement Symposium being planned was held, attended by CAC, EPA, UPenn, AMS and DVRPC. The agenda for this event is still being hammered out. EPA held meetings on proposed new smog standards last week, and a number of local organizations and agencies attended and provided testimony. There will also be a MARAMA-sponsored event on diesel programs here at DVRPC on Wednesday the 12th. The event will last from 9:00 am to 1:00 pm, but registration is required.

In idling news, after being issued violations for bus idling, SEPTA has agreed to establish "staging areas" where buses queue in order to minimize idling. Additionally, at the request of AMS, "No Idling" signs have been installed along Packer Avenue.

Procurement has said they are finally posting the questionnaire for their construction contractors to try to obtain more information about the local construction diesel fleet. I will pass along any findings.

PHILADELPHIA DIESEL DIFFERENCE ACTIVITIES UPDATE:
Eric testified at EPA's Ozone Hearings on behalf of CAC, urging an increase in stringency of smog standards. CAC also supports the use of three significant digits in measuring for attainment purposes, as opposed to the current method where readings are rounded to two decimal points (meaning that a reading of .084 would be rounded to .08, meeting the .08 standards, when in actuality that reading should exceed the standard).

CAC/PDD had a table at Green Fest yesterday, and information was made available on our activities. A hybrid SEPTA bus was also on hand. There was also a CAC-sponsored Asthma Fair last month that educated the community about the dangers of Asthma and where sufferers can find assistance. AMS also attended to give out information.

COMMITTEE UPDATES:
The focus of the Ports Subcommittee is shifting to stormwater management, as the CARE grant that has been funding retrofits and other air-related activities will soon end. The group is now working under a stormwater management grant from the Fish and Wildlife Foundation. CARE level 2 was not awarded since specific projects have not been identified. There will be a stormwater workshop on Nov. 1st. It is hoped that the group will be able to present awards to both Tioga and Packer at that time, and there is a possibility of adding a PDD recognition for the port retrofit project, which should now be complete.

GRANT UPDATES:
The Clean Air Council assisted DEP with its application for a Mobile Source Outreach Grant that will fund media outreach on vehicle idling throughout the state. CAC and two other groups will work regionally to conduct the campaign.

ONE MINUTE UPDATES:
The PA Turnpike Commission is now running 1600 pieces of equipment on B5 biodiesel. The organization had been using B20 but switched to a lower blend for the winter. Eric mentioned that a new firm called Tri-State Biodiesel is looking at using restaurant waste to manufacture biodiesel, similar to Fry-O-Diesel.

PRPA has acquired land and will be issuing a lease to a firm that will import fuel for biodiesel manufacturing. The Navy Yard will eventually be bid out for private development as a container shipping facility. The dredging is moving forward but the work will not begin for about 2 years. The dredging itself will take about 5 years to complete.

Sean reported that the PA subcommittee of DVRPC is still looking at whether there will be competitive CMAQ funds available for our state. No information will be available until October. NJ will be receiving funds.

Dan Snowden of PennDOT has prepared a paper on diesel retrofit issues. The City's contract language is still being reviewed by the Construction and Materials division, and then may go to Executive Management.

The Green Airport Partnership will be having subcommittee meetings soon.

Ken Brown reported that he used Fry-O-Diesel and later had some mechanical problems, though he does not believe they were caused by the fuel.

WEEKLY PRESENTATION:
David Anthony Erb of EPA discussed the Smartway program, a three-year-old initiative that has now signed on more than 500 partners in the trucking industry. They are now looking at the rail industry as well. Rail is 60% more efficient in terms of fuel use than trucking, but there is a problem with siting new facilities due to the "NIMBY" effect - that is, many neighborhoods object to having such sites near their homes. The program's website has some useful tools including a calculator that can show what emissions and fuel use reductions can be expected from using idle reduction or other fuel-saving technologies. The calculator will soon be adapted for rail. The project has tapped into several different media to publicize the campaign, including radio, print, the internet, industry events and awards, airport kiosks, and even a television show called "Trick My Truck". The idea is to create demand for fuel-saving technologies while sharing best practices and data. Loans are also available to assist with capital costs of devices.

NEXT MEETING AND LOCATION:

The next meeting will be held October 15th, 2007 at DVRPC.