| July 15, 2010 A state
superior court judge has ruled in favor of the South Coast Air Quality
Management District in a lawsuit filed by environmental groups that would
have blocked the construction or expansion of thousands of small businesses
and public facilities in the Southland.
“This decision will allow businesses and public facilities to continue
receiving permits when they expand or modernize using the latest air
pollution control equipment,” said Barry Wallerstein, Executive Officer of
the South Coast Air Quality Management District, the defendant in the
lawsuit.
Los Angeles Superior Court Judge James C. Chalfant decided that the
plaintiffs, including the environmental group Communities for a Better
Environment, California Communities Against Toxics, and Coalition for a Safe
Environment did not have a valid legal basis for their lawsuit.
Plaintiffs brought the lawsuit in December 2009 in an effort to derail SB
827 (Wright) and AB 1318 (M. Perez), which directed AQMD starting on Jan. 1,
2010 to issue some 1,200 air permits that had been frozen by a 2008 state
court decision. The 2008 decision had resulted in a one-year moratorium on
AQMD issuing permits to small businesses and public facilities, which in
turn created a significant negative impact on the region’s economy and jobs.
New Source Review
At issue in this decision and the prior state court action is the
availability of emission offsets, which new or modified facilities must
provide whenever they increase emissions. State and federal law requires
emissions offsets under new source review programs to prevent further
deterioration of air quality in already polluted areas. Offsets are
generated when a facility permanently shuts down or when a plant controls
its emissions to a greater extent than required by air quality laws.
AQMD provides offsets from its internal bank at no cost to small
businesses and public facilities such as police and fire stations,
landfills, water treatment plants and sewage plants. In November 2008 a
state court decision prevented AQMD from issuing offsets from its internal
bank. The ruling effectively placed a moratorium on air quality permitting
in the Southland and forced businesses and public utilities to delay plans
to expand or modernize. SB 827 lifted the moratorium allowing AQMD to
resume issuing emission offsets at no charge to small businesses and public
service facilities.
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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