Bay Area Air Quality Management District
375 Beale Street, Suite 600
San Francisco, CA

June 25, 2018

Re: Application 14029 Pacific Steel Casting Synthetic Minor Operating Permit

RESPONSE TO COMMENTS
Per SIP Regulation 2-6-423.3, the District provided an initial 30-day public comment period from July 15, 2016 to August 15, 2016. At the request of the public and the EPA, this period was later extended an additional 30 days to September 15, 2016. At the request of the public, a second public comment period was held from December 6, 2016 to January 19, 2017 and the District held a community meeting in the City of Berkeley on December 14, 2016 to accept public comments in person. In total, the District provided 105 days of notice to the public for public participation.
This document summarizes the comments that District staff received on the draft evaluation report and permit conditions for Application 14029 Revised Synthetic Minor Operating Permit for Pacific Steel Casting.

The District received comments regarding the draft evaluation report and SMOP conditions from 45 individuals, one online publication (Berkeley Citizen), two organized groups (West Berkeley Alliance for Clean Air and Safe Jobs; Golden Gate University School of Law, Environmental Law and Justice Clinic (ELJC)), and one public agency: the United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). The District also received a comment from one commenter that wished to remain confidential.

District staff have considered all comments received and have revised the draft evaluation report and made significant changes to the proposed SMOP conditions, as reflected in the final version of the evaluation report and conditions. Staff have also prepared specific responses to comments received. These responses are set forth below.

L A Wood addressing the Board of Directors of the Bay Area Air Quality Management District BAAQMD in San Francisco, CA April 19, 2016 Whether by regulatory negligence, the discretion of the air district’s Air Pollution Control Officer (APCO) or simple political accommodation, PSC was allowed to bifurcate its permit into two SMOPs. This allowed the Berkeley foundry to falsely represent its emissions as though it were two smaller, independent companies. It also allowed PSC to profit from this BAAQMD-sanctioned downgrade. Of course, these illegal actions by the air district came at the expense of detriment to the surrounding west Berkeley community. The lower reporting numbers for PSC’s two SMOP permits were quite effective in shielding PSC from regulatory demands to make more adequate upgrades to its three facilities or to expand the foundry’s capacity to monitor its emissions. It has also propped up the BAAQMD's insistence that the company was operating within the bounds of the law. From the air district's perspective, PSC had become nearly too small to pollute.

A. List of Comments Received in Response to Posting
The following is a list of comments received via e-mail, letter, or in person during the community meeting.

1. L A Wood Berkeley Citizen, August 3, 2016
2. Janice Schroeder, West Berkeley Alliance for Clean Air and Safe Jobs, August 10, 2016
3. Alejandro Soto-Vigil, August 10, 2016
4. L A Wood, Berkeley Citizen, August 15, 2016
5. Meryl Siegal, August 15, 2016
6. Rhiannon, August 15, 2016
7. L A Wood, Berkeley Citizen, August 30, 2016
8. U.S. EPA, August 30, 2016
9. Matt Haber, September 9, 2016
10. Golden Gate University School of Law Environmental Law and Justice Clinic, September15,2016
11. Golden Gate University School of Law, Environmental Law and Justice Clinic, September19,2016
12. JaniceSchroeder,West Berkeley Alliance for Clean Ai rand Saf eJobs, December14,2016
13. Steve Martino, December 14, 2016
14. Steve Castleman, ELJC, December 14, 2016
15. L A Wood, Berkeley Citizen, December 14, 2016
16. Colin McCarthy, ELJC, December 14, 2016
17. Linda Listrom, December 14, 2016
18. Meryl Siegal, December 14, 2016
19. Helen Kang, ELJC, December 14, 2016
20. Breen Fulton, December 14, 2016
21. Amanda Silas, December 14, 2016
22. Confidential, December14,2016
23. Elisabeth Lamoureaux, January 14, 2017
24. Pam Tellew, January 14, 2017
25. Tom Molyneaux, January 14, 2017
26. Will Rachelson, January 14, 2017
27. Nancy Bartell, January 15, 2017
28. Andrew Berna-Hicks, January 15, 2017
29. Cathy Duenas, Julian Duenas, and David Rink, January 15, 2017

Link to review <Comments received via e-mail, letter, or in person during the community meetings>