California’s oil industry is challenging the state Air Resources Board’s mandate that all gasoline sold in the state contain at least 10% ethanol by 2010.
Back in June, the air board enacted the standard as part of Gov. Arnold Schwarzeneg-ger’s strategy to move toward a lower carbon fuel standard.
Refineries that don’t meet the deadline must fund other programs to reduce the number of highly polluting vehicles on the state’s roads or face penalties.
But the Sacramento-based Western States Petroleum Association, the trade group representing California’s oil industry, calls the mandate unrealistic. The association has filed a petition with the air board seeking to extend the deadline at least an additional two years.
And, in a twist, the association is citing the need to comply with other environmental regulations as the chief reason for not being able to meet the 2010 deadline.
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Off-road trucks of Santa Ana’s Sukut: covered by first phase of truck regulation |
“We’re not asking the board to change the new fuel specifications,” said Cathy Reheis-Boyd, chief operating officer for the association. “But our companies need a reasonable time frame to build the required facilities given the lengthy process to comply with numerous state and local regulations.”
Complying with the California Environmental Quality Act and obtaining permits for changes to refining facilities can take more than four years for each facility, she said. It took nearly five years to meet a 1996 mandate to formulate cleaner-burning gasoline, according to Reheis-Boyd.
The air board has 30 days to respond to the trade association’s petition, which was filed on Aug. 10.
Diesel Truck Rules
The Air Resources Board last week held a workshop in El Monte to begin crafting regulations to reduce diesel emissions from heavy-duty trucks.
The meeting came just weeks after the board passed a landmark and hard-fought regulation limiting diesel emissions from an estimated 180,000 off-road construction vehicles.
The diesel regulation for trucks is expected to be even more far reaching. It would apply to all trucks with a gross vehicle weight of more than 14,000 pounds. The goal is to reduce diesel emissions by the year 2014 to levels that can be achieved on 2004 model engines that have diesel particulate filters on them. Currently, only a small fraction of trucks on the road have these filters.
In a parallel series of hearings, the air board is trying to determine how many of the hundreds of thousands of diesel trucks using the state’s roads and highways should be subject to the rule.
The regulation is certain to meet stiff resistance from truckers and from industries that rely on diesel trucks to transport goods.
For more information, log onto the board’s Web site at arb.ca.gov.
Harassment Training
State officials have approved final regulations for the landmark sexual harassment training law. Among the biggest changes: the law now applies to businesses that have 50 or more employees, including contract workers.
The final regulations were crafted by the Fair Employment and Housing Commission to clarify ambiguities in Assembly Bill 1825, the sexual harassment training law passed nearly three years ago. The new regulations took effect Aug. 17.
AB 1825 was the Legislature’s response to a steady rise in sexual harassment claims and lawsuits. It requires all businesses with at least 50 employees to provide training to supervisors to prevent sexual harassment.
But left unclear in the law was whether the term “employees” includes contract workers or workers out of state, whether out-of-state supervisors also had to be trained and just what qualifications were required to be a trainer.
A subsequent law clarified the supervisor issue, saying only supervisors based in the state needed to be trained. And earlier this year, the Fair Employment and Housing Commission addressed the other issues. Besides including contract workers in the definition of employees, the agency said that the 50-employee total also must include out-of-state workers, though they don’t need to be trained.
The agency also elaborated on the qualifications for trainers. Among those who can provide sexual harassment training are lawyers whose practice includes employment law. Also eligible: human resource professionals or “harassment prevention consultants” who have had experience providing sexual harassment training or responding to complaints.
Under AB 1825, each supervisor must receive two hours of training every two years, with new supervisors receiving their first training within six months of taking the post.
For more information, including the required content of the training sessions, log on to the Fair Employment and Housing Commission’s site at fehc.ca.gov.
Fine is a staff writer with the Los Angeles Business Journal.
