[Source: Orange County Register] A 20-year study released last week by the USC Environmental Health Centers found “that millennial children in Southern California breathe easier than ones who came of age in the ’90s, for a reason as clear as the air in Los Angeles today,” in the school’s summary. It’s a major achievement for Read More…
Tag: SCAQMD
AQMD board narrowly approves restart of refinery in Torrance
[Source: Los Angeles Daily News] ExxonMobil’s Torrance refinery was given regulatory approval Saturday to produce emissions that violate clean air standards as it restarts the plant for gasoline manufacturing more than a year after it was crippled in an explosion. Approval was granted on a narrow 3-2 vote by the South Coast Air Quality Management Read More…
Air quality district picks former EPA administrator as chief amid protests
[Source: San Gabriel Valley Tribune] Environmental activists interrupted a four-hour meeting of the South Coast Air Quality Management District governing board Friday, accusing the district of bowing to petroleum industry interests as it voted for a new executive officer. The protesters, dressed as clowns and representing the Sierra Club’s My Generation Campaign, added to the Read More…
EPA rejects Southern California smog-fighting program as ineffective
[Source: Los Angeles Times] The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has rejected part of a smog-reduction plan by Southern California air quality regulators, saying it has failed to cut pollution from oil refineries and other big emissions sources as required by federal law. The EPA says an emissions-trading program administered by the South Coast Air Quality Read More…
Air pollution reduction program ruled illegal
[Source: Los Angeles Business Journal] A controversial program to give local refineries and major manufacturers more flexibility in reducing air pollution has been ruled illegal by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, officials disclosed late Wednesday. The federal agency said the program fails to meet national clean air standards. The South Coast Air Quality Management District Read More…
Southern California air quality board is sued over adoption of industry-friendly smog rules
[Source: Los Angeles Times] Community groups and environmentalists filed suit Wednesday over Southern California air quality regulators’ adoption of oil industry-backed smog regulations, saying the measures are so weak they violate state law and will hurt public health. The lawsuit seeks to negate the South Coast Air Quality Management District board’s vote in December that Read More…
State Senate leader wants to add seats to air quality board
[Source: Orange County Register] The leader of the state Senate plans to introduce legislation this week to expand the number of seats on the board that regulates Southern California air quality and counter Republican-led efforts to make pollution rules more business-friendly. Senior staff in the office of Senate President Pro Tem Kevin de Leon, D-Los Read More…
Republican-led AQMD board fires longtime executive
[Source: Southern California Public Radio/89.3KPCC] The board of the South Coast Air Quality Management District, now dominated by pro-business members, voted 7-6 Friday to remove Barry Wallerstein, its longtime top executive. The action suggests the AQMD may be taking a more conservative approach to battling the L.A. Basin’s air pollution, which is among the worst in Read More…
AQMD board ousts executive officer
[Source: Los Angeles Business Journal] The governing board of the Southern California Air Quality Municipal District voted 7-6 to fire Barry Wallerstein, its executive officer since 1997, amid concerns from its new Republican majority that the agency needs to be more business friendly. The board appointed Chief Financial Officer Michael B. O’Kelly as the agency’s Read More…