Rule Development

Current Rules And Regulation

Air Pollution Control Board

Advisory Committee

Public Workshops

Public Consultation

Compliance Dates

Publication & Subscription Order Form

Incentive Programs

 

Stan Cowen, Air Quality Engineer, (805) 645-1408

Donald Price, Air Quality Engineer, (805) 645-1407

 

CURRENT PROJECTS:

 

The United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the California Air Resources Board (CARB) classify Ventura County as a non-attainment area for both the federal and state ozone air quality standards. In addition, Ventura County does not meet state particulate matter (PM) standards.

 

Therefore, the District must develop and implement rules designed to reduce air pollutants being emitted from local sources. The District's rules apply to many activities including open burning, incineration, gasoline storage, painting, solvent use, dry cleaning, screen printing, asphalt paving, chrome plating, fuel burning, landfills, and others.

 

With pollution still threatening our skies, the economy and public health continue to be at risk. The Rule Development Section is challenged with the task of developing rules to reduce emissions while minimizing their socioeconomic impacts.

 

Air Pollution Control Board Meetings

Calendar     |     Archives

April 14, 2009

Rule 42, Permit Fees

On April 14, 2009, the Air Pollution Control Board adopted revisions to Rule 42. The revisions included an increase in permit renewal fee rates of 3.5 percent, effective July 1, 2009. For permit holders paying the minimum fee, this increase will result in an increase of $16.00 per year. The District also added an hourly fee to process Part 70 Permit to Operate applications and revised the administrative change procedure for permits.

District operations are funded by state and federal grants, automobile registration fees, and fees charged to sources of air pollution. The APCD receives no property tax revenue or general fund revenue. The fee increase is necessary to offset rising expenses.

For additional information contact Don Price at (805) 645-1407.

 

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March 10, 2009

Rule 70, Storage and Transfer of Gasoline

On March 10, 2009, the Air Pollution Control Board adopted revisions to Rule 70, Storage and Transfer of Gasoline. The revisions include the following:

 

  • * An exemption from Phase II vapor recovery for fleets equipped with Onboard Refueling Vapor Recovery (ORVR). At least 95 percent of the fleet must be equipped with ORVR to qualify
  • * An exemption from Phase II vapor recovery for E85 fueling stations.
  • * A restriction on standing gasoline in Phase I spill containment devices
  • * A requirement for the daily inspection of hanging hardware
  • * A requirement for permit holders to submit test results within 14 days
  • * Other minor revisions

 

For additional information contact  Don Price at (805) 645-1407 or Eric Wetherbee at (805) 645-1496

 

 

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January 13, 2009

2009 Rule Development Calendar: Health and Safety Code §40923(a) requires the District to publish each January 1, a list of regulatory measures scheduled, or tentatively scheduled, for consideration during the following year. Except for limited exceptions, the District may only propose consideration of regulatory measures during a year if those measures are contained in the published list. State law does not require that the rulemaking calendar include control measures to comply with federal requirements, to abate substantial endangerment to the public health, to implement Air Toxic Control Measures published by the ARB, or to implement contingency measures after an ARB determination of inadequate progress. The proposed 2009 rule development calendar to comply with §40923(a) of the Health and Safety Code may be downloaded at the link below. For additional information contact Mike Villegas at (805) 645-1440.

 

 

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November 11, 2008

Motor Vehicle and Mobile Equipment Coating Operations (Rule 74.18- revised): On November 11, 2008,(11 A.M.) the APCD Board adopted proposed revisions to Rule 74.18. Based on workshop comments, staff is proposing a limited-use exemption from the new 25 grams/liter ROC content standard for surface preparation cleaners. This Air Pollution Control Board hearing will be another opportunity for affected businesses, especially auto body shops and vehicle refinish shops, to provide testimony on the proposed rule revisions, which are based on the Suggested Control Measure (SCM) adopted by the California Air Resources Board on October 20, 2005. As a nonattainment area for both federal and state ozone air quality standards, Ventura County is required to adopt all feasible measures such as the SCM. The clean copy of the Rule , and Staff Report may be downloaded below. Two minor changes were added to the draft that was recommended by the Advisory Committee on September 23, 2008. First, Section B.1 was clarified by the addition of the term “as applied” in the heading of the ROC content table. Second, a definition of “Mobile automotive coating touch-up operations” was added. This definition is identical to the conditions described in the exemption in Section C.6. Since APCD staff is concerned that these coaters are doing more than touch-up using HVLP spray guns, only the use of air brush sprayers will qualify for this exemption. For additional information, contact Stan Cowen at (805) 645-1408.

 

 

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Advisory Committee Meetings

Calendar

 

The April 28, 2009, Meeting has been postponed until May 26, 2009.

Paved Roads and Public Unpaved Roads (Rule 55.1- new) and Certified PM-10 Street Sweeping Equipment (Rule 55.2 –new): On April 28, 2009, the APCD Advisory Committee will consider new draft rules to reduce particulate matter (PM) emissions. Ventura County fails to meet the state standard for PM air quality, and a 2003 state law (SB 656) mandated that VCAPCD adopt new regulations to reduce PM air pollution.

Proposed Rules 55.1 and 55.2 will implement those PM control measures adopted by the Board on June 28, 2005, but were not included in the recent adoption of Rule 55, Fugitive Dust. These proposed rules are based on South Coast AQMD Rule 1186, but not all the requirements from that rule are being proposed. The proposed Advisory Committee Meeting notice, draft Rule 55.1, draft Rule 55.2, and a staff report may be downloaded below. The meeting notice includes a summary of changes to Rule 55.2 made since the February workshop. For additional information, contact  Stan Cowen at (805) 645-1408. The meeting will be held at the District office, 1st Floor Conference Room at 7:30 p.m.

 

 

Downloads


 

Public Workshops

May 8, 2007

Rule 15.2, District Indemnification

The District is developing new Rule 15.2, District Indemnification. On various occasions, the Ventura Air Pollution Control District has been the subject of claims or litigation from third parties regarding permitting activities. In order to guard against these actions, staff proposes Rule 15.2, District Indemnification. The rule will establish that permittees agree to hold the District harmless against certain actions involving their Permit to Operate. The requirement applies to any permit issued according to Rule 10 (Permits Required), Rule 30 (Permit Renewal) and Rules 33 through 33.10 (Part 70 Permits).

 

The meeting will take place in the first floor meeting room at 2:00 p.m. on May 8, 2007, at the Ventura County Air Pollution Control District offices, 669 County Square Drive, Ventura, CA 93003.

 

Please direct any comments, questions, or requests for additional information to Don Price at (805) 645-1407.

 

 

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Public Consultation Meetings

 

June 18, 2009

Architectural Coatings (Rule 74.2 – Revised): On June 18th, 2009, at 2:00 p.m., staff will hold a public consultation meeting on proposed amendments to Rule 74.2, Architectural Coatings. These proposed amendments duplicate the 2007 Suggested Control Measure (SCM) adopted by the Air Resources Board on October 27, 2007. Adoption of this SCM will implement Control Measure R-329 from the Ventura County APCD 2007 Air Quality Management Plan.

 

In developing the new proposed limits for the Reactive Organic Compound (ROC) content of architectural coatings, the Air Resources Board (ARB) evaluated the state survey of coatings sold in 2004, cost of compliance surveys submitted by industry, and South Coast AQMD Rule 1113, Architectural Coatings. For more information on the SCM, the ARB has posted their staff report and technical support document on their website (http://www.arb.ca.gov/coatings/arch/docs.htm).

 

The proposed amendments to Rule 74.2 and staff report are available on the District’s website. Also, staff has posted a Notice of Preparation of a Draft Environmental Impact Report (DEIR) and Initial Study to comply with the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA). Staff is proposing to reuse the 2001 Final Environmental Impact Report developed for the 2001 amendments to Rule 74.2 as the DEIR, and to follow relevant provisions in the Ventura County Administrative Supplement to state CEQA guidelines which govern this proposal.

 

For additional information, contact Stan Cowen at (805) 645-1408.

 

 

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August 12, 2008

Emissions Banking for Agricultural Pump Engines (Rule 26.4.1 – New): The District is considering the development of a new rule that will establish a procedure for banking surplus agricultural pump engine emission reductions. These engines are currently exempt from the requirement to hold a Permit to Operate. Banking will be allowed only when fuel use and hours of operation data is available and may require deed restrictions to ensure that banked emission are permanently reduced. Also under consideration is a requirement for confirmation that the land serviced by a subject pump will remain in agricultural production for the foreseeable future. The proposal expands on the requirements of Rule 26.4, Emissions Banking, which is part of Rule 26, New Source Review. Although Rule 26.4 enables the banking of emission reductions from equipment exempt from permit, the EPA has stated that banked agricultural pump engine emissions will not be recognized unless Rule 26.4.1 (or a similar proposal) is adopted.

The key features of a proposed agricultural pump engine banking rule appear on the back of this notice. If you have questions or comments on the proposal, you may either attend the public consultation meeting or contact the project coordinators shown below. We also encourage written comments. At the public consultation meeting, you will be able to speak directly to district staff about the features of the upcoming proposed rule.

The meeting will be held on August 12, 2008, at 2:00 p.m. in the first floor meeting room at the District offices.

For additional information, contact Don Price at (805) 645-1407 or Kerby Zozula at (805) 645-1421.
 

 

Downloads


 

Compliance Dates

 

March 1, 2008

Registration of Agricultural Engines (Rule 250): The California Air Resources Board (ARB) recently finalized new regulations for diesel engines used in agricultural operations. In general, these regulations apply to nearly all diesel engines used to power irrigation pumps; however, they will not apply to diesel engines used to power farm equipment such as trucks and tractors. The new regulations have both administrative requirements and emission control requirements. An ARB fact sheet is available to provide additional information and details on these new requirements.

 

To implement the state agricultural diesel engine regulations, the District adopted Rule 250, "Registration of Agricultural Engines" on September 11, 2007. The rule establishes a diesel engine registration program with a deadline of March 1, 2008. The registration program is not a permitting program, but requires application forms and fees similar to a permitting program. The fees are significantly less than permitting fees and are specified in Rule 48. Both rules appear on the District website noted above.

 

For questions on the registration program, please contact Kerby Zozula at (805) 645-1421. Grant money may be available from the District to replace older diesel engines with newer, compliant diesel engines, natural gas engines or electric motors. For information on District grant programs, please contact Chris Frank at (805) 645-1409.

 

Additional Information

 

 

September 25, 2006

Wood Products Coatings (Rule 74.30). All reactive organic compound (ROC) solvents used for surface preparation and cleanup in commercial wood products manufacturing must meet a limit of 25 grams of ROC per liter of solvent. Water, acetone, and other low-ROC solvents are available for compliance with this requirement. For additional information, contact Don Price at (805) 645-1407.

 

 

Downloads


 

October 12, 2005

Conveyorized Charbroilers, Coffee Roasters, Non-retail Deep-Frying Equipment (Rule 74.25, Rule 23): All conveyorized (chain-driven) charbroilers must have a VCAPCD Permit to Operate and must comply with the requirement for an 83 percent reduction in ROC and particulate matter emissions. In addition, all coffee roasters with a capacity over 25 pounds and non-retail deep-frying equipment must have a VCAPCD Permit to Operate. Contact Permit Desk at (805) 645-1401.