Agenda

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C. 9

To:	Board of Supervisors
From:	John Kopchik, Director, Conservation & Development Department
Date:	April 25, 2017

Contra

Costa

County

Subject:

Bay Area Air Quality Management District Idle Free Pledge

APPROVE	OTHER
RECOMMENDATION OF CNTY ADMINISTRATOR	RECOMMENDATION OF BOARD COMMITTEE

Action of Board On: 04/25/2017

APPROVED AS RECOMMENDED

OTHER

Clerks Notes:

VOTE OF SUPERVISORS

AYE:

John Gioia, District I Supervisor
Candace Andersen, District II Supervisor
Diane Burgis, District III Supervisor
Karen Mitchoff, District IV Supervisor
Federal D. Glover, District V Supervisor

Contact:

Jody London, 925-674-7871

I hereby certify that this is a true and correct copy of an action taken and entered on the minutes of the Board of Supervisors on the date shown.
ATTESTED: April 25, 2017
David Twa,

BY:	, Deputy

RECOMMENDATION(S):

ADOPT Resolution No. 2017/145 to take the Bay Area Air Quality Management District Idle Free Pledge and encourage Contra Costa County employees and residents to also take the Idle Free Pledge.

FISCAL IMPACT:

Reducing the amount of time a car idles can reduce gasoline costs. For individuals who take the Idle Free Pledge, this could lead to a reduction in personal funds spent on gasoline. Because the Idle Free Pledge will also reduce the amount of ozone emitted by vehicles, health care costs associated with the negative health impacts of gasoline emissions could also decrease.

BACKGROUND:

The Contra Costa County Climate Action Plan identifies on-road transportation as the largest source of greenhouse gas emissions in Contra Costa County, constituting 45 percent of total greenhouse gas emissions in 2005 and 47 percent of total greenhouse gas emissions in 2013. The Climate Action Plan calls for a 28 percent reduction in emissions from the on-road transportation sector by 2035.

The Bay Area Air Quality Management District (BAAQMD) has identified car exhaust as the number one source of poor air quality in the summertime, with negative impacts on public health including aggravated asthma, coughing or difficult breathing, decreased lung function, cardiovascular problems, and chronic bronchitis. The U.S. Department of Energy (U.S. DOE) estimates that idling in personal vehicles wastes about three billion gallons of fuel and generates about 15 million tons of carbon dioxide annually. U.S. DOE states that eliminating the unnecessary idling of personal vehicles would be the same as taking five million vehicles off the roads.

The Contra Costa County Spare the Air Resource Team, a project of the BAAQMD, has instituted an Idle Free Pledge. Individuals who take the Idle Free Pledge agree that they will turn off their vehicle’s engine when it is parked or not in use, for example when waiting to pick someone up from school, sports practice or the library, or checking email and voicemail. The BAAQMD finds that individual drivers can save fuel and reduce their carbon footprints if they go “idle free.”

CONSEQUENCE OF NEGATIVE ACTION:

If the members of the Board of Supervisors do not take the Idle Free Pledge, the Board will forego an opportunity to publicize and achieve the Climate Action Plan goal of reducing greenhouse gas emissions.

CHILDREN'S IMPACT STATEMENT:

Reducing greenhouse emissions from the transportation sector can provide cleaner air for Contra Costa County children, and reduce the occurrence of asthma and other health impacts.