[Source: Orange County Register] Have we reached the point where air pollution regulations are harming people more than air pollution itself? That’s the question at the heart of the dispute between the Trump administration and California about the Environmental Protection Agency’s air pollution program known as NAAQS, the National Ambient Air Quality Standards. President Trump Read More…
Tag: air pollution
Trump targets smog standards, ordering EPA to make it easier for companies to comply
[Source: Los Angeles Times] President Trump took aim at federal air quality standards Thursday, directing the Environmental Protection Agency to relax restrictions on state governments and businesses that have been key to cutting smog. In a memo, the president instructed EPA Administrator Scott Pruitt to more quickly review states’ smog-reduction plans, make it easier for businesses Read More…
Southern California regulators have a chance to rein in freight pollution. Will they take it?
[Source: Los Angeles Times] Over and over in their decades-long war on smog, Southern California regulators have failed to use a powerful tool against ports, warehouses and other freight and logistics hubs that are magnets for air pollution. Now, the South Coast Air Quality Management District is considering a proposal to regulate warehouses, rail yards Read More…
Opinion: The ‘secret science’ that distorts air-quality studies
[Source: Orange County Register] See if you can spot the flaw in this logic: Disease-causing bacteria can be spread by hand contact. Boiling water kills bacteria. Plunge your hands into boiling water several times a day to prevent disease. If you can see the flaw in the logic, you have better eyesight than a lot Read More…
City Council to weigh environmental impacts of Port of Long Beach’s rail expansion project
[Source: Press-Telegram] City Council Chambers will soon be center stage for a David-and-Goliath battle – between a loose coalition of small businesses and Long Beach’s economic powerhouse. A study on how a proposed rail yard expansion by the Port of Long Beach will affect the environment will go before the City Council on Tuesday – Read More…
California Attorney General establishes Bureau of Environmental Justice, and industry should get prepared
[Source: Stoel Rives LLP] On February 22, 2018, California Attorney General Xavier Becerra announced that the Department of Justice is opening an environmental justice office within the environment Section: the Bureau of Environmental Justice (“Bureau”). “The Bureau’s mission will be to protect people and communities that endure a disproportionate share of environmental pollution and public Read More…
The SCAQMD wants to raise your taxes
[Source: OC Register] In what appears to be the very definition of an out-of-control government agency, the staff of the South Coast Air Quality Management District has decided to pursue its own plan for raising the sales tax in four counties by a quarter-percent. The SCAQMD doesn’t have the authority to put tax-increase proposals on Read More…
Mad about L.A.’s air quality? Blame common products like hairspray and paint, not just cars
[Source: Los Angeles Times] When it comes to air quality, the products you use to smell nice or keep your kitchen clean could do just as much damage as the car you drive. A new study of the air around Los Angeles finds that consumer and industrial products now rival tailpipe emissions as a source Read More…
Residents seek to recall 3 Paramount councilmembers in wake of environmental crisis
[Source: Long Beach Press Telegram] Residents in Paramount are attempting to recall three elected leaders as the city continues to grapple with an environmental crisis after the discovery of elevated levels of hexavalent chromium in the air. Proponents expect to begin collecting signatures early this year in their effort to recall councilmembers Daryl Hofmeyer, Peggy Read More…