HomeMy WebLinkAboutEQCB Min 2009-02-25
CITY OF SEAL BEACH
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Environmental Quality Control Board
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Minutes of February 25, 2009
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7 Chairperson Voce called the meeting of the Environmental Quality Control Board
8 (EQCB) to order at 6:30 p.m. on Wednesday, February 25, 2009. The meeting was
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9 held in City Council Chambers and began with the Salute to the Flag.
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I Roll Call
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13 Present: Chairperson Voce, Members Barton, Cummings, and Hurley
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15 Also
16 Present: Department of Development Services
17 Lee Whittenberg, Director
18 Jerry Olivera, Senior Planner
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20 Absent: Navarro
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22 Mr. Whittenberg stated that Member Navarro had indicated at the previous meeting that
23 she would not be in attendance at tonight’s meeting. He requested that her absence be
24 excused. So ordered by Chairperson Voce.
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II Approval of Agenda
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28 MOTION by Hurley; SECOND by Barton to approve the Agenda as presented.
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MOTION CARRIED: 4 – 0 – 1
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AYES: Voce, Barton, Cummings, and Hurley
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NOES: None
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ABSENT: Navarro
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III Oral Communications
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37 None.
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39 Presentation of Resolution 09-1 Honoring Diana Neal for Her Service on the
40 Environmental Quality Control Board.
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These Minutes were transcribed from an audiotape of the meeting.
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1 Chairperson Voce presented Resolution 09-1 to Diana Neal in recognition of her service
2 on the Environmental Quality Control Board. Mr. Whittenberg then thanked Ms. Neal for
3 her contributions while serving on the board.
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V Consent Calendar
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7 1. Receive and File – Staff Report Re: “Draft Work Plan, Extended Site Assessment of
8 Former Underground Storage Tank Site 229, Naval Weapons Station, Seal Beach,
9 California.”
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11 2. Receive and File – Staff Report Re: Draft Final Munitions Response Program
12 Preliminary Site Inspection – Naval Weapons Station Seal Beach.
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14 3. Receive and File – City Council Agenda Report Re: Overview of “Climate Change
15 Scoping Plan” and “SB 375.”
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17 4. Receive and File - Staff Report Re: “A Review of the International Modeling
18 Literature: Transit, Land Use, and Auto Pricing Strategies To Reduce Vehicle Miles
19 Traveled and Greenhouse Gas Emissions.”
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21 5. Receive and File - Memorandum Re: Orange County Transportation Authority
22 Presentations – West County Connectors and San Diego Freeway (Interstate 405)
23 Improvement Project.
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25 6. Receive and File – Staff Report Re: Materials Re: Orange County MS4 Permit –
26 Urban Storm Water Runoff Management Program.
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28 MOTION by Hurley; SECOND by Cummings to approve the Consent Calendar as
29 presented.
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MOTION CARRIED: 4 – 0 – 1
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AYES: Voce, Barton, Cummings, and Hurley
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NOES: None
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ABSENT: Navarro
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VI Scheduled Matters
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38 7. APPROVAL OF MINUTES – January 28, 2009.
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40 Recommendation: Approve Minutes subject to any corrections determined
41 appropriate.
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43 Mr. Whittenberg noted that Member Hurley had provided a list of minor corrections to
44 the minutes and the Department Secretary has made the corrections. Chairperson
45 Voce also added a minor change to Page 6, Line 11.
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City of Seal Beach Environmental Quality Control Board
Meeting Minutes of February 25, 2009
1 MOTION by Cummings; SECOND by Hurley to approve the minutes of January 28,
2 2009 as amended.
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MOTION CARRIED: 4 – 0 – 1
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AYES: Voce, Barton, Cummings, and Hurley
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NOES: None
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ABSENT: Navarro
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10 8. Discussion Matter – Residential Wood Fireplace Emission Regulations
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12 Recommendation: After discussion by Board, provide any direction to staff as the
13 Board may determine to be appropriate
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15 Chairperson Voce thanked Staff for the AQMD information provided, stating that it had
16 been very valuable to him and it is good to see that they have outlined specific
17 proposals for limiting wood burning devices. He suggested that the discussion on this
18 item be held for another month to provide the opportunity for the Board members to
19 confer with their respective councilperson to receive input on possible solutions. He
20 suggested that although fireplaces cannot be banned altogether, properties that persist
21 in frequent burning of wood and emit a lot of smoke could be cited by the Code
22 Enforcement Division for creating a public nuisance. He stated that eliminating the sale
23 of fire wood could encourage the use of more gas log fireplaces. He reiterated the
24 health dangers associated with inhaling air polluted by smoke from wood burning
25 devices.
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27 Member Hurley stated that most residents are not aware of the problems associated
28 with using wood burning devices, and he believes the community needs to be educated
29 about this problem and told what the AQMD is proposing regarding fireplaces. He
30 stated that this could begin now and done again when the colder weather begins in
31 September/October. He offered to prepare a news article on the subject for publication
32 in the Sun Newspaper in October 2009. He asked Staff to inquire whether AQMD
33 currently has the ability to measure particulate matter pollution within Seal Beach.
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35 Mr. Whittenberg stated that the idea for public education could probably be done fairly
36 efficiently, as literature can be mailed out with the water billings. He noted that AQMD
37 does have prepared public information literature that can be requested. Chairperson
38 Voce recommended that this be done before wood burning season begins in October.
39 Mr. Whittenberg stated that the first step would be to confer with the City Attorney to
40 determine whether the City can enforce a no wood burning policy. He suggested that
41 this matter be carried over to the April 2009 meeting for continued discussion.
42 Chairperson Voce asked to review the Public Nuisance Ordinance to see if there might
43 be a possibility of including the wood burning, as this practice does have cumulative
44 impacts. Mr. Whittenberg stated that he believes educating the community should be
45 the first step in approaching this problem.
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City of Seal Beach Environmental Quality Control Board
Meeting Minutes of February 25, 2009
1 Member Cummings stated that she liked the AQMD’s proposal for a $125 discount on
2 new gas log sets purchased for installation in open hearth fireplaces.
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4 Member Barton agreed with proceeding cautiously and conferring with the City Attorney
5 on how best to manage this issue. She noted that inserting information with the water
6 billings is a great idea, but further discussion should take place before this occurs.
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8 Member Hurley suggested inquiring with the Orange County Health Department so see
9 whether they provide information on the hazards of smoke pollution.
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11 Chairperson Voce then asked if Staff would have to receive approval from City Council
12 in order to continue to research this matter. Mr. Whittenberg stated that Staff would
13 begin with discussions with the City Attorney regarding how far the City can go in
14 enforcing restrictions on wood burning. He encouraged the Board to continue to
15 provide Staff with ideas on how to address this issue.
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17 Chairperson Voce ordered to table this issue until the April 2009 meeting.
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19 9. Approval of Comment Letter Re: Draft Environmental Impact Report – Tesoro
20 Reliability and Regulatory Compliance Project (SCH No. 2008021099).
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22 Recommendation: Authorize approval of comment letter with any modifications
23 determined appropriate, instruct Chairman to sign proposed comment letter, with
24 any revisions determined appropriate and forward to the City Council and Planning
25 Commission for information. Receive and File Staff Report.
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27 Staff Report
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29 Mr. Whittenberg briefly noted that the City’s comment is that it supports this project as it
30 reduces greenhouse gas emissions that adversely affect all of South Los Angeles and
31 Orange County. He added that included in the letter is a list of other projects of this
32 category for which the City has previously provided comments.
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34 MOTION by Hurley; SECOND by Barton to approve comment letter as modified, have
35 Chairman sign comment letter, and forward to the City Council and Planning
36 Commission for information. Receive and File Staff Report.
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MOTION CARRIED: 4 – 0 – 1
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AYES: Voce, Barton, Cummings, and Hurley
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NOES: None
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ABSENT: Navarro
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VII Staff Concerns
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45 None.
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City of Seal Beach Environmental Quality Control Board
Meeting Minutes of February 25, 2009
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VIII Board Concerns
Member Hurley referred to Item Nos. 3 and 4 related to climate change and greenhouse
gas emissions and commented that he does not see how the level of gas emissions is
to be brought down to the levels projected in the documents. Mr. Whittenberg noted
that the modeling report was provided to let the Board know that traffic models are to be
undergoing a lot of review and revision to attempt to address the greenhouse gas
emission reductions. He added that they are not currently at a point where this can be
done with any certainty, and transportation related gas emissions are 5 million metric
tons out of the required 60 million metric ton reduction that includes emissions from
many other sources.
Member Hurley then shared that he had read a news article this weekend stating that
the tundra is unfreezing at an unprecedented rate and releasing methane into the
atmosphere, which is a more powerful global warming agent than carbon dioxide.
Mr. Whittenberg then stated that Staff had received a document entitled "Building a
Healthier San Gabriel River Watershed," and he provided a memo with the table of
contents attached. He indicated that the complete document is available for review in
the Planning Department.
Chairperson Voce stated that he had received an inquiry about where the traps for
capturing trash flowing down the San Gabriel River are located and who manages these
traps. Mr. Whittenberg stated the he would look into this, but he does recall that at
some point the City had submitted an application for a debris barrier that is stretched
across the San Gabriel River at certain times throughout the year to trap trash before it
gets to the beach. He said that the engineering for this approach proved to be
impossible to accomplish, so it was never implemented. He said he would also check
with the City of Long Beach.
IX Adjournment
Chairperson Voce adjourned the meeting at 7:20 p.m.
Respectfully Submitted,
C\~M~^-~
Carmen Alvarez, Executive Secretary
Department of Development Services
The Board on April 29, 2009, approved the Mcs:.es of the Environmental Quality
Control Board of Wednesday, February 25, 2009. .
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