Sac Metro Air District cautions uncertainty from EPA reconsiderations; APCO details biomass bill and federal funding risks

Staff and the Air Pollution Control Officer warned the Sacramento Metropolitan Air Quality Management District board on March 27, 2025, that ongoing federal rule reconsiderations and withdrawals of California waiver requests could affect the region's emissions planning and district programs.

Alex Panikvar, a planner with the district, summarized recent federal actions and their possible local effects. "There's been a lot of news about changes to EPA policy at the federal level," Panikvar said, and he described EPA's announced early‑stage reevaluation of past federal actions, including health‑based standards such as the PM2.5 standard. He said the district is tracking potential outcomes that could require revisions to state implementation plans.

Panikvar outlined that California submitted two waiver requests to EPA (for the Advanced Clean Fleets rule and a Locomotive Regulation) that CARB subsequently withdrew in January 2025. He said the withdrawal affects the ability to enforce those specific vehicle standards until any waiver is revisited and granted by EPA.

Director Dickinson asked whether California can still set and enforce health standards under the California Clean Air Act in light of federal actions; staff deferred to APCO Alberto Ayala for broader legal or policy assessments. Ayala told the board the specific test of whether California could proceed independently on ambient air quality standards had not yet occurred and that the district and state agencies are awaiting more clarity from federal partners. Ayala said EPA leadership had reached out to the state and districts and that staff would bring further information to the board as it becomes available.

Ayala also presented state and federal legislative priorities. He said the district is a co‑sponsor of SB 88, authored by Senator Anna Caballero, to promote utilization of agricultural and forest biomass and to develop a method to quantify the emissions‑avoidance benefits of alternative uses (including low‑carbon fuels and hydrogen). "What we are attempting to do here is promote the utilization of existing biomass resources," Ayala said, adding the bill had moved through the Senate and was in the Assembly.

Ayala described Cap2Cap priorities the district will carry to federal meetings: incentives to help businesses comply with air rules, continued federal funding for air monitoring, and support for biomass utilization. He said the California Pollution Control Officers Association (CAPCOA) is also pursuing state budget requests covering community incentive programs (AB 617 implementation), alternatives to agricultural burning, wood‑smoke reduction, and coordination on Clean Cars for All funding. Ayala warned that the district receives about 15–20% of its operating budget from federal sources and that the district's total operating budget is roughly $25,000,000 per year; he said a cut or freeze in federal funding would affect monitoring and other federally supported activities.

On the Clean Cars for All program, Ayala said some large districts have already exhausted their funds and the district expects available funds to run out within about a year if the state does not restore or reallocate funding. He also noted that he was participating remotely from Cartagena, Colombia, where he was attending a World Health Organization conference on air pollution and health.

Board members asked clarifying questions about monitoring and AB 617 deployments; Ayala said the district's deployed portable sensors used for some communities would continue to operate but that some of the more elaborate fixed federal monitoring stations could be at risk if federal funding is removed.

The item was presented as informational; no formal vote was recorded.