Travis County Commissioners Court
February 3, 2009, 2009
Item 13
Number 13 is to consider and take appropriate action on the central Texas region's implementation of the 2009 big push initiatives to maintain attainment of the eight-hour ozone national ambient air quality standard.
>> good morning. John white, tnr, natural resources and environmental quality division. With me today is tom webber, environmental quality program manager, and adell noel, air quality project manager. We were here a couple of weeks ago talking about the big push issues and you asked us to come back to elaborate on some issues, and we're here to do that today. So I'm going to turn this over to tom and adell right away and let them lead the discussion. Thank you.
>> good morning, Commissioners, judge Biscoe. As john said, two weeks ago you asked us to return promptly with some specific information and recommendations, and what Travis County can do to support this big push initiative. In a nutshell, the central Texas governments and citizens -- if we can do enough to reduce the formation of excessive ground level ozone during the ozone season, which is April first through October 31st, it's plausible that our efforts could pay the dividend of remaining in attainment with the ozone standard. Ultimately e.p.a. Will review the data collected through 2009 and make a decision on our attainment in early 2010. We developed a four-page summary detailing our recommendations. First we've identified actions that Travis County could take, and adell in a moment will describe to you some of those recommendations that we've laid out. Next in the attachment there are some efforts that the clean air force is considering, followed by what the central area council advisory committee, the -- the clean air coalition advisory committee is considering or has under way. After a discussion of the county's specific recommendations, we suggest that we can then turn to discuss the specific ways the court members or the county staff could support these other regional efforts. So with that kind of intro, I'll turn this over to adele.
>> Travis County participants currently in several strategies to reduce emissions collectively with other organizations. There are certain things that Travis County could do to increase our reduction of pollution in central Texas. This is not an exhaustive list, this is just a preliminary list of streamgz that should be studied and incorporated if feasible. For example, utilizing channel 17 and Commissioners court to encourage behavior changes for employees and citizens. We could -- we could send a county wide voice mail from the court that includes an ozone action day, including the message. For example, brown bag your lunch, car pool, don't gas your car up until after 6:00 and other strategies as well. Develop an employee ozone telecommute plan. This plan would include streamgz so that on ozone action days, 20% of county employees work from home under a preapproved plan or work hours other than 8:00 to 5 or commute to work other than using a single occupied vehicle. Educate county employees about commute options. This includes car pooling, busing, encourage the use of commute solutions. Special parking fee on osa ds with bus passes. Require employees to pay a special ozone charge for parking in downtown county spaces on ozone action days and they can use these funds to purchase capital metro passes instead. These are steps that can be used to discourage the use of single occupied vehicles. And could be coupled with a plan to concentrate car pooling on ozone action days. And also continue the collaborative efforts with other local organizations. And county operational changes on ozone action days include no mowing on right-of-ways and parks unless using clean-burning equipment. No fueling of county facilities after 6:00 p.m. Planning by emergency vehicles would be necessary. High level of owe soap should not just be a concern for businesses. High level of ozone is a health issue as well and is the primary reason that e.p.a. Lowered the stod begin with. Increased levels of ozone causes irritation to the lungs, throat and diminishes lung capacity and aggravates asthma and other respiratory problems, healthing health costs. It also affect negatively trees and crops, therefore we need to do everything we can to reduce ozone levels. I'm available to answer any questions you may have.
>> of course all of these can apply to us personally.
>> yes.
>> and so that -- those are good guidelines. Those are very good guidelines.
>> the list of efforts are just wonderful and really innovative and I think that we should encourage employees to perhaps through the efficiency committee suggestion box system to also suggest ways that we might be able to reduce ozone institutionally. And the list in the attachment from the clean air force, I noted the psa contest for high schools, and then further down a live here, breathe here facebook page, which I think is a wonderful viral way in a good sense viral, to spread the word. I understand that some students in aisd have already created web pages regarding ozone and greenhouse initiatives locally and at the school level, and perhaps we could put out a call to do links on the facebook to youtube and also to web pages. This could be a very interesting experiment in viral psa. Public service announcement.
>> right now we are asking folks to comply, voluntarily comply with a lot of things that -- this guideline I think is a great list to go by with the additional of what's the other persons on the court are probably going to say in addition to these guidelines to make them real moving parts to help us stay in attainment situation. There is another opportunity, I think, that -- other than channel 17. When we show what we're attempting to do volunteer wise to make sure that we stay in attainment status for the time lines that we've illustrated between April and September. Is there any way possible that -- this is a technological world now. Is there any way possible that -- you may be doing it. I haven't seen the deal from channel 17 as far as your whole movement as far as what you want us to know from looking at channel 17. Is there anything in there that lists an e-mail address where the person that may have a computer may make suggestions also by looking at channel 17? He said well, we like to do this, we like to do that, to maybe assist in the county's effort to reduce emissions. Is that also part of what the outreach aspect of what we're doing here?
>> Commissioner, I think it could be. I think it would be easy to include on channel 17 a way in which it could have a web link where someone could go to the website or it could include -- if you have -- it could include who you would send an e-mail to.
>> also in the past there was a call out for suggestions from the residents of central Texas on what we could do to improve air quality. That was included in our '03 flex plan that was submitted to tceq and e.p.a. And we did receive some responses to that.
>> okay. I'm really fearful that if we do not comply, we're going to have severe consequences that may have to be dealt with. And so I'm just trying my best to make sure that folks are willing to do that, but again everyone is going to have to volunteer to do it. I mean, it's just a matter of not knowing about what needs to be done, but actually doing what needs to be done. That's a big difference. So I'm concerned about that. And otherwise this is -- here are the consequences if we do not do what needs to be done to come in compliance. So I'm concerned about that movement right there based on that premise.
>> I understand your concern, Commissioner Davis, and that's why we're working collaboratively with the different organizations, the clean air coalition and campo is actually put out a call to assist on a bid for a proposal to help get the word out to all the residents in central Texas using all available media outlets. That bid has not been awarded yet, but we are working on getting the message out to all people.
>> you all needed specific action from us today?
>> with your direction, I think what we're okay looking for is to -- I think what we're looking for is in greater detail to explore recommendations that you think more viable than others. Ones that in your judgment are ones that could bear fruit.
>> I think -- I think all of these are viable. I think the ones that probably need more outreach and massaging, of course, would include a telecommute -- preapproved telecommute plans, special parking fee on ozad's. I think those two specifically as well as the no fill-up until after 6:00 p.m., those three would probably require some additional planning, but they're all viable.
>> yeah. I think even the closing of the fueling stations, as long as we get notices out, prepare all the major users for that, I think that's doable. I'd like to start setting something in motion here so they understand the change in procedure.
>> do we have the authority to impose a surcharge? That's the only one that strikes me maybe as being --
>> it's your parking. It's the county's parking. It's not -- unless you consider it to be part of a compensation package and some rights, I think you can probably do anything you want with it. But that's probably something -- issues that's the only one that I have -- I feel a bit uneasy about that one.
>> it's really just -- you've got -- we talked about doing something bold, otherwise talking about it is one thing, but really affecting --
>> bold and legal.
>> bold and legal. We'll try to do -- we'll certainly do both, but I think there's -- to change behavior from the normal, you will have to kind of do something that's going to get the attention. And I think a 10-dollar surcharge will do that on ozone action days. It's kind of like okay, you have to make a discreet choice here of whether you want to pay $10 to come downtown and park and take some other form of transportation. Car pool, ride your bike. Walk if you're close enough. It really is that type of behavior changing event for 15 to 20 days out of the summer. And we are -- this is a big push. This is what we're trying to do is wake everyone up and say this is important enough to change your daily behavior.
>> why $10? Why 10-dollar mark?
>> it's just a --
>> what about 30, 40, 50?
>> I think it ought to be reasonable. I think it ought to be reasonable. A 10-dollar charge is not an insignificant amount of money on a daily basis.
>> that's lunch.
>> and it also is a transfer to pay for the bus fares, which are about $1.50 a person, whether that's per day or per trip.
>> well, it's a serious matter, joe.
>> per day.
>> but as I keep -- and have continued -- I think we all have continued to express the consequences of if we do not do what we're supposed to do. I am so afraid of those consequences, and even though we're talking about volunteer compliance with maybe some mandates if you do not do certain things, the consequences of not doing this is the scary part. And I don't really know if folks really do understand what the real severe consequences will be that has already been applied in certain places across the state of Texas for those particular folks who will not do the necessary things, the counties, did not do the necessary thing that make sure that they stayed within attainment. So I don't know if the public really understands what the consequences are in that regard. That perryman report that that fellow -- I can't recall his name, but he was here. What was his name?
>> bill gill.
>> yeah, bill gill. We had a chance to go through that. We looked at that and saw some things here. There are some consequences. Either pay me now, pay me later type situation. So are those consequences being really being hammered on to let the public know, yes, we volunteer, however if you do not volunteer this is what the consequences may be.
>> Commissioner --
>> john, just a moment. But I think when you develop the media announcements and that will give us something when we meet people on the street or wherever we go. It's very easy to tell them some of these things, don't gas up until after 6:00 the different things here. But we can also say very simply if we don't meet this goal, then this is what we're all going to have to do. We can list a few things and those will come from the media announcements that you have, and so I think it's really important to get that going so there's no doubt about sharing the information with whoever we run into. We all do that everyday, to the store, church, out on the street, and we can tell people. And then probably we can even do that ourselves, put the flyer today with the suggestions and then the what happens to you if you don't meet the goal. And pass that out as well. It doesn't have to be real complicated. I think we can pretty much get the message across to people. I think it's real important to get that media thing going.
>> perhaps we could take the opportunity right now to hit some of those points because people watch this. So first and foremost, we've talked a little bit about the regulatory and economic consequences. The regulatory consequences are going to be things like requirements for increased scrutiny during transportation of roadways and housing developments and things like that. That would be one consequence of falling into non-attainment. Other economic consequences would be there would be certain restrictions on businesses potentially as they come into this area. New facilities that might have significant emissions. But the biggest impact is something that's actually almost imperceptible to us and that is the elevated number of folks being treated in the hospital on ozone action days. When you have high levels of ozone, you might not feel that bad that day, but all of a sudden you have emergency rooms, lots of folks coming in. You will have kids coming in, all kinds of folks who are particularly susceptible to damage to their lungs from ozone will be in on those days. It's one of the things that slides under the radar for most of us, but it's a significant thing for us to be thinking about. The one item that may come to your attention fairly shortly here is there is a letter that has been prepared that would be cosigned by the mayor of Austin and the judge asking flint hills for some assistance in trying to help provide text-lead diesel fuels during the ozone season. That's a more complicated issue, but we need to get that discussion rolling as well.
>> and would campo make that decision to issue that -- what is it, a call for some money for the media?
>> isn't campo working on an r.f.p. Currently?
>> yes. It actually the deadline has come and gone for all bid to be submitted. It's being reviewed. All of the goods that were submitted.
>> so maybe a decision will come within the next month or so?
>> should.
>> campo had aproved the public information plan for the big push, before it was called the big push, as well as an approval of funding for additional research on our level of ozone causing emissions and their effects, I believe. Those had been approved previously.
>> okay.
>> who is the point person at the city of Austin on air quality issues. They actually have a team and I'm not sure who ed heads the team up.
>> it seems to me we ought to do the following. At some point the importance of these steps will turn on the number of people doing them. So it seems to me that we ought to refine our initiatives and those that need further action to flesh them at. We need to take that. We ought to contact the city of Austin, the lcra, the other governmental entities that employ a significant number of people, let them know what we're thinking about doing and ask them to do the same thing. And I think the court ought to approve a draft either next week or the week after that we share with county employees to get their input before we take final action. The clean air force ought to be asked to contact the clean air partners to do as many of these initiatives as they can. Not mowing during certain hours on ozone action day is really a small step, but if enough people do it, it can have major impact. If we take the lead and let our folks know you will not be able to refuel at a county fueling station on ozone action day until after 6:00 -- what time do those fueling stations close?
>> they're open all the time for the sheriff's department. They operate 24 hours a day.
>> how do we keep employees from refueling midday on those days?
>> we lock down the pumps.
>> that sound goods to me. We'll let them know, you won't be able to refuel at a county station on ozone action day until after this time.
>> right.
>> and it seems to me it just requires a little planning, especially if we know a day or two in advance. We ought to do what we can to take steps, but also to get other employers to follow suit and then get the clean air force to try to get as many of the private employers who are clean air partners to work with us on this and beef up the public education and message to residents.
>> those are some real good points being discussed here today. Really when you really look at this, someone is going to ask for sure, well, y'all are sitting up there on the dais telling everybody to do all of this kind of stuff, but what are you doing? Well, this is what the county is doing with some of these suggestions that are being made here today, but as part of what you're suggesting, judge, I'm concerned that the economic consequences of not doing it, the regulatory type consequences by not doing it, and also the health effects by not doing it of what we're asking folks to do and the other private and public entities, is that a part of what we're putting forth are the consequences? Because I think --
>> I think the communication to employees certainly ought to outline those. You start out by describing those.
>> because that's significant. I mean, when folks -- he's right. You've got folks that suffer breathing problems, and it's a real serious matter when you have those type of folks that need to be hospitalized, have trouble breathing. It's a health effect. Very important.
>> I think it seems to me like one of the things that might be worth considering is we can put out a lot of information, but the other side of that is actually getting the employees to actively engage. And I'm thinking that we might look at some kind of program like an endorsement program by the employees or maybe a competition from one day to the next of ozone action days of if there's a way that we can measure participation that we put that information out. Just some thoughts. It's one thing to put information out and it's another thing to get true engagement. To the extent that we can figure out creative ideas to get employees to engage and publicize.
>> well, we have that way of measuring the combined charities out there on the corner of the courthouse. Maybe that's a place to show the public how much county employees have contributed to this effort.
>> yes, sir.
>> briefly as a citizen I have a question and a comment. Out of my own ignorance, I don't really understand what the filling up before or after 6:00 p.m. Accomplishes. I am ignorant. I don't understand what that does.
>> if you're feeling your car up with gasoline, more of the gas is coming out.
>> before 6:00 or after 6:00?
>> any time you fill up your vehicle, but the majority of ozone cooks during the day as a result of the sunlight. So if you don't put the emissions out during the time of what's cooking during the time of brightest daylight, less ozone.
>> oh. Great. Thanks so much. I never did -- I've been too ignorant to understand that.
>> we've got a new convert.
>> [ laughter ]
>> the other thing I mentioned once before actually is I found that my use of a push lawn mower is not only better for my health, but it obviously cuts way down on my carbon footprint on the planet, the gas produced by those little engines is really -- it has no catalytic converters or anything. As a county group like you guys, maybe you could explore having that as at least an option for -- I know as a homeowner, our yards are relatively small. And it's not impossible for most people, I think, to use a push lawn mower, a real lawn mower. And I don't know if that could also be done on the county level at any stage. I'm not sure what would be involved with that, but it would be better health and not only for the county workers if they weren't talking about huge fields or something like that, and less gas and less pollution. I don't know. It's just one knowledge technological suggestion that would be a lot cheaper.
>> you raise a good point. It's probably impractical to mow right-of-way with a hand push bawts it's such a huge amount of property, but related to that, we might add it to the first bullet underneath the first dark bullet is no use of blowers during ozad's as well.
>> that's a great idea.
>> just to pick up on that, I mean, I think people hear this often, they don't really give it a lot of credence. It's important to understand that in certain parts of the country, I don't know whether the same would hold true here, as much as 25% of the emissions that result in ozone formation come from small engines, meaning boats, lawn mowers, blowers, those kinds of things. So they are a powerful source of this stuff. If we can hold down the emissions from those sources on ozone action days, that would be a useful thing to do.
>> moo of that we take all of these directions into account. Do additional work to present to the Commissioners court in two weeks. As a status report. So we can take further action.
>> I second that.
>> with that motion, there are certain authorities that we do not have as far as county government is concerned. It will be good to see, I guess, all the municipalities that do have certain, quote, authorities to mandate certain things that we cannot mandate from a court's perspective. I think we may need to look at those ordinances, authorities that incorporated areas may have that we just don't have available to us as a county government. It may be something in there that a city can do that we can't, that would help us along in the process.
>> I think when we take final action and come up with some document that summarizes that, and I just mentioned the city of Austin because it's a large city, but we ought to share that with all the cities --
>> all the municipalities. Exactly.
>> the other thing is that this mower and the electric mower is part of the clean air force strategy already. We certainly ought to advocate that to residents and also to governmental entities who have small mowing assignments. And if you can't do that, then delay. I'm sitting here visualizing county parks and they're huge compared to front and backyards of residents. But certainly we don't want to exclude ourselves if there are steps that we can take.
>> and judge, we'll be coming forward next week with our local initiative projects. And among them are the county purchase for in our parks division of electric mowers to replace gasoline-powered mowers. Excuse me, propane mowers to replace gasoline ones.
>> that will be coming next week.
>> that will be coming next week. But it gives you an example of what -- that we're not just looking out at others. That we are within our own operations looking at these as well.
>> if it's coming back next week, we may as well try to contact the city of Austin, lcra, the other large entities, try to get a response from them and get a status report on that next week. Any more discussion? All in favor? That passes by unanimous vote. I think we've got our county clerk headed this way. By the way, let's have a two or three-part item, joe, that will enable us to discuss whatever is coming anyway, plus add to it any other issues that we need to discuss or get an update on. Dietz, let's take up the laugh item and see how much we can get done on that.
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Last Modified:
Tuesday, February 3, 2009 2:36 PM