Department of Water Resources
A daily compilation of significant news articles and comment
June 22, 2007
5. Agencies, Programs, People -
Air board acts on greenho
'Cool paint' among first of climate-change rules -
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Air board acts on greenhouse gas rules
By Bob Pool, Times Staff Writer
State regulators will move cautiously toward reducing greenhouse gases, officials implementing the nation's toughest clean-air standards indicated Thursday.
California Air Resources Board members voted 6 to 3 to adopt "early action" measures that could eventually require cars and trucks to use alternative fuels such as ethanol and bio-diesel, restrict the use of some automobile air-conditioning refrigerants and force landfills to capture methane gas formed by rotting garbage.
But officials ordered staff members to come back in six months with an analysis of concerns raised during six hours of hearings in Los Angeles by business and environmental groups concerned about strategies used to tackle climate change .
Air board members indicated that the emissions restrictions could be expanded — or eased — between now and 2010, when the greenhouse gas control rules are scheduled to begin being enforced.
"Global warming is one of the most serious issues we face today," said board Chairman Dr. Robert F. Sawyer in a statement. "These early actions will realize prompt emission reductions while a more comprehensive plan is developed."
The new low-carbon fuel standard, the control of do-it-yourself automotive refrigerants and use of more sophisticated trash dump technology are mandated by last year's wide-ranging California Global Warming Solutions Act, or AB 32
Along with Thursday's three greenhouse gas control rules, the state board is required to adopt 32 other measures designed to protect the climate by the start of 2010.
"It's the first step in realizing goals of that act — to reduce greenhouse gases to 1990 levels by the year 2020," said Gennet Paauwe, a resources board staff member.
Tailpipe exhaust causes more than 40% of greenhouse gas emissions, experts say.
Accidental release of HFC 134a, a canned refrigerant used by vehicle owners to recharge automobile air-conditioning systems, contributes a relatively small amount to climate change, the report noted.
Most of
Board staff members said their six-month follow-up report would address concerns raised Thursday by environmentalists, the South Coast Air Quality Management District and the California Air Pollution Control Officers Assn.
The cautious approach to implementation was met with relief by a coalition of business groups.
"There's certainly a lot of uncertainty — of how it will impact the fuel supply, whether it ultimately will cost the consumer more at the pump, whether the biofuels will be there," said Al Lundeen, a representative of the Western States Petroleum Assn., one of the members of the coalition that calls itself the AB 32 Implementation Group.
"Our group is certainly supportive of the direction we're heading. But we don't know that it's going to be cost-effective or technologically feasible, as required under the legislation."
Others were disappointed in the board's stance.
"Today's vote on early action measures was the first big test of AB 32, the state's landmark climate-change law, and our regulators failed," said state Sen. Don Perata (D-Oakland) in a statement. "The air board's action falls far short of the Senate's expectations and what must be done now to reduce the threat to pollution."
Perata said steps should have been taken to also clean up diesel pollution from trucks, buses and port equipment. He urged board members to "follow the will of the governor, lawmakers and the public."
He complained that the Senate asked for a commitment from air board members during their confirmation proceedings to "take bold actions" toward reducing greenhouse gas emissions.
"Unfortunately, today they flunked the test," he said.#
http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-me-canban22jun22,1,7243444.story?coll=la-headlines-california
'Cool paint' among first of climate-change rules
Sacramento
By Jim Downing - Bee Staff Writer
To help California begin the process of cutting greenhouse gas emissions by 25 percent by 2020, the state Air Resources Board on Thursday mandated a technology that anyone who's been through a summer in Sacramento can relate to: "cool paint" for cars.
By blending in special pigments, car paint of any color can be made to reflect much of the sun's heat energy. That will keep the vehicle's interior cooler and reduce the demand on the air conditioner -- which in turn improves fuel efficiency and cuts carbon dioxide emissions a bit.
The cool paint requirement was one of five emissions-cutting strategies adopted by the state air board in the first package of regulations authorized by Assembly Bill 32, the climate-change law enacted last year. The plans will now wind their way through the state's rule-making process, and are scheduled to become law by Jan. 1, 2010.
The board also voted to enact new emissions controls on certain diesel-powered heavy equipment, and approved three other measures proposed in April:
• A low-carbon fuel standard, as directed by Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger in January, requiring that the "carbon content" of the fuel powering the state's vehicle fleet drop 10 percent by 2020.
• A measure to reduce emissions of refrigerants used in automotive air conditioners. Rather than outright banning retail sales of the refrigerants, as proposed in April, the board left open the possibility of a compromise plan from the refrigerant industry that would make cans of refrigerant leakproof and institute a recycling program.
• New standards for methane-capture systems at garbage dumps, and a rule that such systems be installed at any landfill that doesn't already have them.
Despite the addition of the cool-paint and diesel-equipment plans, the board's action fell short of what many environmental advocates requested during roughly four hours of public testimony Thursday.
Most of the board's nine members appeared to sympathize with the speakers' desire to use the early action strategies to make a bold start to the state's global-warming plan.
But that sentiment was tempered with anxiety about the practical problems of moving quickly. In particular, board members expressed worry about heaping more responsibility for crafting complex policy on what they characterized as an already overtaxed Air Resources Board staff.#
http://www.sacbee.com/111/story/235773.html
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