| Oct. 16, 2008
Following U.S. EPA’s partial disapproval of 2003 Southland clean-air plan
Responding to a partial disapproval of its 2003 clean air plan, South
Coast Air Quality Management District officials charged that it is the
federal government, not AQMD that has not fulfilled its commitment to cut
air pollution in the Southland.
“It is high time for the federal government to do its fair share of
cleaning up the nation’s worst smog problem,” said Barry Wallerstein, AQMD’s
executive officer. “AQMD adopted all local regulations called for under its
2003 clean air plan and is on track to do the same under the current plan.”
This week, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) partially
disapproved AQMD’s 2003 Air Quality Management Plan (AQMP). One reason for
its disapproval was AQMD’s assignment of specific control measures to EPA
under the plan. EPA has consistently refused to commit to emission
reductions under AQMD’s clean air plans even though EPA has jurisdiction for
pollution sources such as ships and trains that account for a large share of
pollution in the Southland.
For example, AQMD in 2023 will have jurisdiction over just 14 percent of
smog- and particulate-forming nitrogen oxide (NOx) emissions. (2023 is the
deadline for the Southland to achieve the 8-hour ozone health standard.) In
contrast, EPA in 2023 will have jurisdiction over 37 percent of NOx
emissions. In 2014, the deadline for achieving the fine particulate (PM2.5)
standard, EPA will have jurisdiction over 24 percent of NOx emissions and 56
percent of sulfur oxide emissions.
EPA was compelled to act this week on the 2003 AQMP as a result of a
consent decree with the citizen group Association of Irritated Residents and
the environmental group Natural Resources Defense Council. The two groups
sued EPA when the agency failed to meet a 12-month deadline for acting on
the plan as required by the federal Clean Air Act.
In 2003, EPA standards required AQMD to develop a plan to meet the former
1-hour ozone standard by 2010. Since that time, EPA revoked the 1-hour
ozone standard and has replaced it with a more health-protective 8-hour
ozone standard. Meeting the 8-hour ozone standard by 2023 will require
significantly greater emission reductions from all air quality agencies,
including EPA, compared to the 2003 plan.
For example, the 2007 AQMP calls on EPA to reduce NOx emissions from
existing locomotives by 10 tons in 2014 by requiring add-on pollution
controls.
“AQMD has aggressively adopted all feasible measures to reduce pollution
from the sources it regulates,” Wallerstein said. “Now it is time for EPA
to do the same so that all 16 million residents of this region can breathe
clean air.”
AQMD is the air pollution control agency for Orange County and major
portions of Los Angeles, San Bernardino and Riverside counties.
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