Title
El Dorado County Air Quality Management District (AQMD) recommending the Board of Supervisors, acting as the Board of Directors of the AQMD, approve AQMD's acceptance of up to $971,890 of Targeted Airshed Grant (TAG) funding from the United States Environmental Protection Agency and authorize AQMD's Air Pollution Control Officer (APCO) to execute a memorandum of understanding with the Sacramento Metropolitan Air Quality Management District.
FUNDING: Federal Targeted Airshed Grant funding.
Body
DISCUSSION / BACKGROUND
The United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) provides financial assistance to local air districts under the TAG Program. The overall goal of the TAG Program is to fund emission reduction activities to reduce air pollution in nonattainment areas with the highest levels of ozone and PM 2.5 in the United States. The EPA identified the Sacramento region as one of the nonattainment areas eligible for this funding. The Sacramento Federal PM 2.5 Nonattainment Area (SFNA) is comprised of all of Sacramento and Yolo counties, and parts of Solano, El Dorado and Placer counties.
On June 16, 2022, the EPA awarded $7,070,148 of TAG funds to the Sacramento AQMD as the recipient of the five-year grant for the SFNA. The El Dorado AQMD is not eligible to directly receive the TAG funding from the EPA and requires an approved agency receive the monies from the EPA and administer the disbursement of the funds as a pass-through. The Sacramento AQMD will serve as the TAG recipient and El Dorado AQMD will be a subrecipient of the grant. The maximum grant funding for the projects in El Dorado County is $954,296 and the maximum administrative (labor & advertising) funding is $17,594.
In the portion of El Dorado County that lies within the SFNA two PM 2.5 reducing components will be implemented. Those components and the anticipated accomplishments are:
• Residential Biomass Chipping: Funding will be provided to the EDC Fire Safe Council for chipping approximately 250,000 cubic yards of residential biomass material.
• Unpaved Road Paving: Funding will be provided to the County Department of Transportation (DOT) to pave 4.8 miles of unpaved roadways. DOT will pave sections of Sweeney Road, Mount Murphy Road, Russell Hollow Road, Tullis Mine Road, South Street, and Luneman Road.
On July 28, 2022, the Sacramento AQMD Board of Directors passed a motion to authorize their APCO to execute MOUs with El Dorado County AQMD and the other subrecipients. The MOUs will establish the terms for Sacramento AQMD to provide the administrative functions and to pass-through the TAG funding. The terms of the MOUs will commence on upon full execution and terminate April 30, 2027.
ALTERNATIVES
The Board could choose to not accept this grant and/or not approve the El Dorado AQMD's APCO to execute the MOU.
PRIOR BOARD ACTION
On March 8, 2022, the Board approved AQMD's participation in a previous TAG grant, the acceptance of up to $2,314,560 of TAG funding and authorized the APCO to execute MOUs with Sacramento AQMD and Placer County Air Pollution Control District to administer that grant. That funding augment's the AQMD's woodstove replacement incentive program and funds the paving of several other unpaved roads in the SFNA portion of El Dorado County.
OTHER DEPARTMENT / AGENCY INVOLVEMENT
County Counsel
CAO RECOMMENDATION / COMMENTS
Approve as recommended.
FINANCIAL IMPACT
Acceptance of the grant requires cost sharing (matching) funds. The match will be provided by the value of the residential biomass chipping recipient's prep-work incurred by contractors and the residents' in-kind labor ($477,007), DOT's costs to prepare the roads for the paving projects ($521,777), and a 20% salary benefits match for AQMD staff ($3,519). The grant funding and associated appropriations were not included in the budget for FY 2022-23 as the grant timing was unknown at the time of budget preparation. The budget adjustments to accommodate the operating transfer to DOT for planned paving projects in FY 2022-23 will be brought to the Board with the District's fund balance true up after FY 2021-22 closes in September.
CLERK OF THE BOARD FOLLOW UP ACTIONS
Clerk of the Board shall forward a copy of the minute action to the AQMD and shall forward the Board Chair-signed budget transfer to the Auditor's office for processing.
STRATEGIC PLAN COMPONENT
Good Governance
CONTACT
Dave Johnston, APCO