ORDER OF BUSINESS

1.      Call to Order and Roll Call.  The Biodiesel Marine Committee meeting convened at 11:12 a.m.  Present:  Chair Bowen, Members Berman, Burgard and Ving. Absent:  Member Horner.   

2.      Approval of the August 14, 2007 Marine Committee Draft Regular Meeting Minutes (Discussion and Action). Upon Motion by Member Ving and second by Member Burgard, the August 14, 2007 Meeting Minutes were approved (AYES: Chair Bowen, Members Berman, Burgard, and Ving; Absent:  Member Horner) (Explanatory Document: August 14, 2007 Approved Meeting Minutes)

3.      Marine Committee Milestones and Goals.  (Discussion and Action) The Marine Committee will discuss incremental steps, set future agenda items in order to achieve Marine Committee milestones and goals, and vote to approve an Outline for an Informational Report to the Board of Supervisors.  Continued from the August 14, 2007 Meeting) (Explanatory Document:  Marine Committee Outline)

Committee members discussed the Marine Committee outline.  Topics discussed included:

·         Introduction.  Member Ving stated that she would be producing the introductory sections of the Marine Committee report on “Current Bay Area Marine Access to Biodiesel” and “About the Marine Sub-Committee.”

·         Education and Outreach Efforts.  Member Ving would be focusing her efforts on this section between now and the next meeting of the Marine Committee.  Member Ving discussed Dr. Randall von Wedel’s setbacks establishing a biodiesel B99 tank in Sausalito because of a lack of understanding with all the different permitting agencies in approving the site. 

Member Ving reported that she would be focusing on three main points:

(1)   Attaining a concise version of the Boater’s Handbook that was completed two or three years ago on the request of Dr. von Wedel that would be more pertinent to the Task Force. This particular version is not as technical and is more user-friendly.  Member Ving requested that this version be sent to members electronically to review in order to suggest revisions and approve for publication on the website.

(2)   Providing an update on the Gas House Cove location as a potential fueling site to either exhaust the possibility or detail what it would take to get it moving in the short term. 

(3)   Providing a summation from Dr. von Wedel on his efforts at the Sausalito fuel dock; e.g., what steps were taken, the agencies involved, and their requirements.    

Member Berman stated that he would provide a summary of the cruise ship award program for the use of biodiesel/alternative fuels that would include information on what awards were given to which cruise ships, criteria to qualify for an award, steps, etc.  This information would be made available for the October meeting.

Member Burgard distributed a “Biodiesel Overview in San Francisco Bay” draft outline for the section on “Potential Users of Marine Biodiesel and How They Fuel” (Explanatory Document:  Biodiesel Overview on San Francisco Bay Outline).  The outline topics that were discussed included:

·         Past projects preceding the Task Force and current biodiesel projects.

·         Potential biodiesel users in San Francisco or serving San Francisco that include (1) passenger vessels; (2) non-passenger commercial vessels; and (3) recreational boaters.  

·         Layberth locations in San Francisco.

·         Fueling methods: dock fueling (locations), truck (suppliers), and barge; primary users.

·         Summary of key concerns operations managers are likely to have with biodiesel.

·         Challenges to developing the marine biodiesel market.

·         Next steps for biodiesel use in the San Francisco marine industry.

Member Burgard recommended consulting Dr. von Wedel for additional input on past biodiesel projects and on his experience with regulators. Member Ving indicated that she would consult with Dr. von Wedel on past projects and next steps. 

Dock Fueling Section: Member Berman would provide (1) information on dock fueling and requirements for establishing a fuel dock within San Francisco Port piers and (2) a summary of required permitting and regulations.  Member Ving would request a summary from Dr. von Wedel on his experience in Sausalito and would provide additional information on Gas House Cove.

Appendix:  Chair Bowen suggested (1) that the “Appendix Supporting Documents” section should contain a supporting document/report on marine use of biodiesel in the Puget Sound area and that the “Introduction” section include information on other jurisdictional/international efforts on marine biodiesel use.   

Committee members discussed how a Mayor’s mandate would help influence marine biodiesel use.  It was recommended that it would be beneficial to have access to a specialist who would be involved in facilitating the use of biodiesel in a marine environment in order to move the program forward. Chair Bowen indicated that Member Bali would be making an effort to facilitate a mandate for biodiesel use within San Francisco.  Member Berman discussed the Port’s internal team that would be working on facilitating marine biodiesel use and suggested that team member(s) attend the October or future meeting to provide an informational report on their activities.

Chair Bowen discussed the Biodiesel Access Task Force’s discussion on extending its sunset date past December 31.  Committee members agreed that the Marine Committee should meet quarterly if the Task Force were to be extended to discuss regulatory and market demand changes and to make recommendations to decision makers.

Upon Motion by Chair Bowen and second by Member Ving, the Marine Committee Outline was approved with an amendment to add a preface that “the intent of this subcommittee is to create a document as outlined below to come up with recommendations for decision makers.”  The approved Marine Committee outline would be presented to the full Task Force at their October 20 meeting for inclusion into the Informational Report to the Board of Supervisors.  (AYES: Chair Bowen, Members Berman, Burgard, and Ving) (Absent:  Member Horner.) 

4.      New Business/Future Agenda Items (Information and Discussion).  Chair Bowen stated that he would make a recommendation to the full Task Force that the Marine Committee meet quarterly.  It was announced that Member Ving is working with the San Francisco Public Utilities Commission (PUC) on their biofuel recycling program. As a result, Member Ving would be resigning from the Task Force as a voting member and would represent the PUC seat, as Member Tom Franza is retiring.  It was requested that a Bylaws amendment be made in order to change the membership composition of the Marine Task Force so that Member Ving could continue to serve.  Member Berman stated that a group of Port employees would attend the October meeting to discuss marine applications of biodiesel.

5.      Public Comments:  Members of the public may address the Task Force on matters that are within the Task Force’s jurisdiction and are not on today’s agenda.  There was no public comment at this time.

6.      Adjournment:  The Biodiesel Marine Committee meeting adjourned at 12:28 p.m.

The next meeting of the Biodiesel Marine Committee is scheduled for Tuesday, October 9, 2007 at 11:00 a.m.

Respectfully submitted by,

Monica Fish, Task Force Secretary

** Copies of explanatory documents are available at (1) the Task Force office, 11 Grove Street, San Francisco, California between the hours of 9 a.m. and 5 p.m., (2) upon request to the Task Force Secretary, at telephone number 415-355-3709 or via e-mail at [email protected], or (3) on the meeting website as attachments to the agendas or meeting minutes.

Approved: October 9, 2007