Developers, manufacturers, transportation companies and a host of others are casting concerned eyes on a draft clean air plan released last week by the South Coast Air Quality Management District.
The massive plan would cut major pollutants by half in 10 years in the Southland to comply with state and federal clean air standards.
To do so, the plan puts forward hundreds of pollution control measures on everything from shopping centers to pleasure boats to refineries. Some measures the district could implement. State and federal agencies would carry out others.
The cost of the plan is unknown. If all of its elements were implemented, it could run into tens of billions of dollars. Air district officials contend that the health impacts from pollutants already cost a similar amount.
In the next several months, the district plans to hold hearings and take comments from industry, environmentalists, planners and others as it revises the plan.
The reactions from industry are expected to be harsh as many of the measures would impose additional costs or limit production.
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Pleasure boats in Newport: could fall under new rules |
Already, developers are concerned their projects would be impacted by requiring emission controls on construction equipment and reductions of auto trips from completed projects.
“We already have a lack of affordable product right now,” said Mark Grey, director of environmental affairs for the Building Industry Association of Southern California in Diamond Bar. “The BIA is very concerned that new fees added on to the cost of new homes would make them even less affordable.”
The association, which counts many Orange County real estate companies as members, backs a market approach to cutting pollution from development projects, especially incentives for developers that do manage to cut emissions, Grey said.
Other industries also are in the district’s sights, especially in the energy and cargo sectors. Many of these operations fall under federal rules, including cargo ships and interstate trucking.
The rules even could find their way down to recreational boats and yachts.
“Stricter regulations would probably increase prices for pleasure craft, which could make recreational boating less attainable for some income groups,” said Harry Monahan, government relations consultant for the Southern California Marine Association in Orange. “We’ll just have to see what they come up with.”
Greenhouse Gas Law
The state Air Resources Board has been given the task of implementing the landmark greenhouse gas reduction bill signed into law by Gov. Arnold Schwarz-
enegger.
The law requires greenhouse gas emissions to be cut by 25% to 1990 levels by the year 2020.
The details of doing so are left up to the Air Resources Board.
The board is made up of 11 members appointed by the governor. The board not only has the power to craft regulations, it can impose fees to recover its administrative costs and can levy penalties against violators.
In the next few months, the board will be developing its strategy, starting with an Oct. 19 meeting in Sacramento.
For business, the key issue is just how much and how quickly will each of the major greenhouse gas-emitting industries,oil refineries, electric power plants and cement makers,have to reduce their carbon output.
The state’s major business groups have warned that if the measures are too drastic or implemented too quickly, production of oil, electric power, cement and other crucial resources would have to be cut back, with consequences for the economy.
Another key issue is the extent to which the board will rely on traditional regulations that dictate just how companies must comply as opposed to market approaches that set out general reduction targets and leave the strategies up to businesses.
Fine is a staff writer with the Los Angeles Business Journal.
