[Source: Los Angeles Times] California is confronting the limits of its power to save federal environmental protections as Congress and the Trump administration take aim at a landmark law the state has relied on for decades to clean the air of noxious smog. A push by Republicans to roll back parts of the Clean Air Read More…
Tag: air pollution
AQMD seeks order to cut emissions at Long Beach metals plant
[Source: Los Angeles Business Journal] Local air quality regulators on Wednesday announced they are seeking an order to reduce emissions of a toxic chemical at Lubeco Inc., a Long Beach metal-finishing plant. The South Coast Air Quality Management District filed a petition with an independent hearing board Friday seeking the order to require Lubeco to Read More…
Questions remain as Gov. Brown signs legislation to address neighborhood-level air pollution
[Source: Los Angeles Times] Gov. Jerry Brown on Wednesday signed legislation aimed at improving air quality in disadvantaged communities, a key step in shifting the debate over how the state fights climate change and an issue that has tested the influence of environmental justice advocates The law imposes new requirements to monitor and reduce pollution Read More…
House passes bill delaying Obama-era EPA ozone rules
[Source: Law360] The House of Representatives on Tuesday passed a measure to delay new U. S. Environmental Protection Agency rules on baseline ozone standards, as President Donald Trump’s administration looks to give states the flexibility to set their own rules. The Ozone Standards Implementation Act of 2017, passed on a largely party line 229-199 vote, Read More…
Brown, lawmakers celebrate bipartisan cap-and-trade victory
[Source: Sacramento Bee] The three-bill package now heads to Brown’s desk. Brown has sought to offer the state’s cap-and-trade program as a model that can be reproduced in other states and even nations to reduce carbon emissions and combat rising temperatures. “We’re only 1 percent of the problem, but we’re a lot more a part Read More…
Gov. Brown and Democratic leaders offer plan to extend cap and trade, with aim for approval this week
[Source: Los Angeles Times] After weeks of back-and-forth between environmentalists and business interests, Gov. Jerry Brown and legislative leaders introduced a proposal Monday evening to reauthorize California’s cap-and-trade program, the centerpiece of the state’s efforts to battle climate change. The plan consists of two bills: Assembly Bill 398, which would extend the life of the Read More…
Gov. Brown tours polluted L.A. neighborhoods to see firsthand where progress lags
[Source: Los Angeles Times] Gov. Jerry Brown slipped quietly into southeast Los Angeles County on Tuesday to tour some of California’s most polluted neighborhoods and meet with activists who have criticized his administration for doing too little to protect the health of the people living there. Assemblywoman Cristina Garcia (D-Bell Gardens) took Brown on a Read More…
Southern California’s smog clean-up future is far from clear
[Source: Orange County Register] Southern California has once again won the distinction of having the worst summer smog in the nation but earned praised for its long-term efforts to improve air quality. Such were results of this year’s American Lung Association State of the Air report, a national air pollution analysis. The good news was Read More…
New air-board chief says he’s been tough on air pollution, polluters
[Source: The Press-Enterprise] Wayne Nastri’s arrival a year ago as the chief of South California’s air quality agency was seen by many as a coup for the business community. The former Bush administration official and environmental consultant took the helm of the South Coast Air Quality Management District just after a takeover of the district’s Read More…