4.12 Air Quality
Construction Equipment Emissions
Construction equipment would be used at each receiver site to install equipment, distribute the sand
received from the dredge, and remove the equipment. It was assumed that a large forklift (or small crane)
and a wheeled bulldozer or loader would be used for equipment installation and removal. For sand
placement, two wheeled loaders would be used, with occasional support from the forklift. There might also
be a small engine-generator to provide light for night operations. For the duration of operations, the data
from Table 2-2 was used, with the assumption that mobilization and demobilization would each take three
days at each receiver site. The results of the calculations based on preliminary data are shown in Table
4.12-1. Emission factors are taken from EPA document AP-42 and the South Coast Air Quality
Management District CEQA Air Quality Handbook (1993). Spreadsheets showing the data and emission
factors used in the calculations are included in Appendix F.
Table 4.12-1 also contains an entry for estimated pump operations emissions. The data on this line shows
estimated emissions for a diesel engine operating at 500 horsepower for 20 hours per day for 78 days.
These quantities were used to analyze a case where a slurry pump engine would have emissions less than
the APCD permit thresholds.
Dust Emissions
Projects that include major earthmoving activities usually are analyzed for the impact of dust emissions. The
proposed action includes many sand conveyance and distributionactivities. However, for these operations,
the sand would be quite moist, and the potential for dust generation would be very low. Activities on dry
sand would be limited to mobilization at each site (one to two days) and crew access, both would be of
relatively short duration. Therefore, impacts from dust generation resulting from earthmoving, and from the
movement of vehicles on the beaches, would be less than significant.
Applicability Analysis for General Conformity
In order to assess whether the proposed action is exempt from a General Conformity analysis, the total
construction equipment emissions are compared with the General Conformity de minimis thresholds in
Table 4.12-1. The emissions from dredging and pumping operations that would be allowed by a Permit
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to Operate (or ARB Registration) are not included in the comparison. The determination is in accordance
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with 40 C.F.R. 51.853(d)(1) and 93.153(d)(1) which states that a conformity determination is not
Page 4.12-4
Regional Beach Sand Project EIR/EA
99-69\sect-04.12.wpd 7/19/00
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