LB gathering urges OK of emission credit bill

LONG BEACH - Lawmakers joined air quality regulators Friday to urge passage of emergency legislation that allows thousands of Southland small businesses and public agencies to bypass what they say are unreasonable new air quality regulations.

Gathering at Long Beach Airport, supporters urged passage of Senate Bill 696, a measure under consideration in Sacramento which circumvents a recent legal ruling that stripped local air quality regulators of their ability to hand out "banked" emission credits.

The long-running program allowed the South Coast Air Quality Management District to hand out free emission credits for small industrial polluters like restaurants, dry cleaners, hospitals and auto body shops.

Now, those same entities face costs ranging from $235,000 for a two-pump gas station to $1.6 million for a tortilla chip manufacturer.

"Whether intended or not, the consequence of this lawsuit is causing extreme difficulty and financial hardship for businesses, mostly small businesses, and city agencies like fire departments," said Long Beach City Councilwoman Tonia Reyes Uranga, who also sits on the AQMD governing board, the agency responsible for air quality in most of Southern California.

At Long Beach Airport, caretakers say the rule has prevented them from operating a backup generator used to light the runway during power outages without paying more than $500,000 for an emission permit.

Before the lawsuit, the emission permit would have been free under the AQMD program.

Sam Atwood, an AQMD spokesman, said the agency has amassed a backlog of more than 1,000 small-business permits since a state court ruled against the agency in December.

Environmental groups that brought the lawsuit include the Natural Resources Defense Council, which successfully challenged the AQMD's authority to issue free permits without compliance with the California Environmental Quality Act. The AQMD and business groups claim the public hearing and community outreach it requires are too cumbersome and expensive for most small businesses and city agencies.

A representative from the litigants could not be reached for comment Friday.

SB 696, being carried by South Bay Democratic state Sen. Rod Wright, would re-establish AQMD's emission credit bank and allow its free permitting system.

Because supporters are seeking rapid passage a two-thirds majority will be required in both houses of the state legislature.

"The longer we wait, the longer it's hurting businesses and workers, stopping growth and preventing some of these projects funded by the federal stimulus package from moving forward," Uranga said. "If people are unable to afford these permits, they're not going to bother investing in new equipment, cleaner equipment and equipment we need to help cut air pollution in this area. That's the reality we're in."

Source: Long Beach Press Telegram
May 8, 2009

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