Clean-Air Plan Could Cause Regional Pain
Nearly all of Southern California's 16 million inhabitants and thousands of businesses could feel some pinch under the more than 50 measures identified in a new smog control plan released by Southern California air quality officials Tuesday.
The plan offers an overview of the regulations believed to be necessary if Los Angeles, Orange, San Bernardino and Riverside counties are to comply with mandates of the federal Clean Air Act by the end of the decade. But air quality officials warned that even if the plan is adopted in its entirety, the region will be hard-pressed to meet federal deadlines.
"There's a tremendous job ahead of us and we need to work in unison and we need to work aggressively on all fronts if we're going to get to [clean-air] standards on time," said Barry R. Wallerstein, executive officer of the South Coast Air Quality Management District.
The law requires the district, working with state and federal authorities, to produce a periodic blueprint for clean air. The last plan was unveiled six years ago, but implementation has been slow because of opposition by affected businesses, lawsuits by environmental groups and delays by regulators.
Under the new plan, consumers could feel the impacts from restrictions on the use of fireplaces and wood-burning stoves, from new smog-check requirements for cars, and from added costs for cleaner boats, all-terrain vehicles and solvent-free paints. All are sources of smoke or gases that contribute to smog.
The plan calls for more homes to be built with light-colored roofs to conserve energy. Hamburgers may cost a bit more to help offset the cost of grease traps at charbroil restaurants. One measure calls for tax breaks or other incentives for consumers who buy low-polluting cars.
Farms probably will be required to do more to control dust and emissions from livestock waste, rock-crushing plants could face new dust controls, and a number of industries could be fined $5,000 per ton if they emit more than 10 tons annually of hydrocarbons, which come from paint, fuel and solvents.
In the new plan, much of the increased cleanup burden falls on diesel engines, including trucks, ships, trains and airport equipment that have gone largely unregulated up to now.
