BILL ANALYSIS                                                                                                                                                                                                    Ó





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          |                                                                 |
          |         SENATE COMMITTEE ON NATURAL RESOURCES AND WATER         |
          |                   Senator Fran Pavley, Chair                    |
          |                    2011-2012 Regular Session                    |
          |                                                                 |
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          BILL NO: AB 1459                   HEARING DATE: June 12, 2012
          AUTHOR: Huber                      URGENCY: No  
          VERSION: January 9, 2012           CONSULTANT: Katharine Moore  
          DUAL REFERRAL: No                  FISCAL: Yes  
          SUBJECT: Scientific Advisory Committee on Acid Deposition.
          
          BACKGROUND AND EXISTING LAW
          The State Air Resources Board (board) is the state agency 
          charged with coordinating efforts to attain and maintain ambient 
          air quality standards, and to conduct research into the causes 
          of and solutions to air pollution, among other responsibilities 
          (Health and Safety Code (HSC) § 39003).

          Atmospheric deposition plays an important role in air and water 
          quality, and, thus, public and environmental health and welfare. 
           Atmospheric deposition can be dry (gas and particles) or wet 
          (dew, cloud drops and precipitation). Modern focus on 
          atmospheric acid deposition began to intensify in the 1960s and 
          1970s when, for example, large scale forest declines in the 
          United States and Europe were associated with acid rain.  

          In 1977, the National Atmospheric Deposition Program (NADP) 
          began to monitor precipitation chemistry.  Also, the National 
          Acidic Precipitation Assessment Program (NAPAP) was established 
          in 1980 to investigate the causes and effects of acid deposition 
          in the US.  Both the NADP and NAPAP continue to operate national 
          long-term monitoring programs - including sites in California.  
          The 1990 amendments to the federal Clean Air Act require 
          reductions in sulfur and nitrogen oxide emissions - principal 
          precursors to acid deposition - and atmospheric concentrations 
          of both continue to decline in California despite population 
          increases and economic growth.

          Reflecting the national concern, two five year programs were 
          established in California in the 1980s to study acid deposition. 
           The first was the Kapiloff Acid Deposition Program (KADP)(AB 
          2752, Kapiloff and coauthors, c. 1473, Statutes of 1982).  The 
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          KADP sunset in 1988 and was repealed and replaced by the 
          Atmospheric Acidity Protection Program (AAPP) (AB 2930, Sher, c. 
          1518, Statutes of 1988).  A Scientific Advisory Committee was 
          established by statute to provide guidance to the KADP and was 
          subsequently incorporated into the AAPP.

          According to the board, funding for the two programs totaled $25 
          million from 1983 - 1993, and numerous acid deposition-focused 
          research projects - ranging from the role of atmospheric 
          processes to impacts on human health, aquatic ecosystems, 
          forests and agriculture were conducted.  A Final Assessment 
          report, overseen by the Scientific Advisory Committee, was 
          completed in October 2000 and summarized the results.  The 
          assessment found that acid deposition in California was 
          dominated by oxidized nitrogen species, and many impacts 
          specific to acid deposition were relatively minor or moderate.  
          The report concluded that the state's existing control measures 
          for ozone and particulate matter were sufficient to address acid 
          deposition in the state and recommended against establishing 
          separate atmospheric acidity or acid deposition air quality 
          standards.  No research under the auspices of the AAPP has been 
          reported since 2002.

          PROPOSED LAW
          This bill would eliminate the Scientific Advisory Committee on 
          Acid Deposition.

          ARGUMENTS IN SUPPORT
          According to the author, "California is a complex and dynamic 
          state that needs support of a responsive government. It is 
          imperative that entities no longer of use to the people are 
          removed from statute to ensure that government is streamlined, 
          efficient, and effective."

          ARGUMENTS IN OPPOSITION
          None received

          COMMENTS 
           The Atmospheric Acidity Protection Program is no longer active.   
          As noted above, the Final Assessment was issued in October 2000 
          and fee collection for the AAPP ceased by 1994.  The statute 
          establishing the AAPP (HSC §§ 39900 - 39905) is narrowly 
          tailored to the program.  The first sections provide numerous 
          legislative findings reflecting mid-1980s era scientific 
          concerns and the last three provide the program's scope of work. 
           The research completed in 1993 largely addressed the concerns 
          raised by the findings.  Since then, the board's research focus 
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          has shifted to other pressing scientific issues, such as climate 
          change.  Should acid deposition again become a specific concern, 
          further research could be conducted under the board's existing 
          authority and active research programs.  Therefore, following 
          the author's rationale, the committee may wish to delete both 
          the AAPP and its Scientific Advisory Committee from statute 
          (Amendment 1).

          SUGGESTED AMENDMENTS 

               AMENDMENT 1  
               Delete HSC §§ 39900 - 39905, inclusive 

          SUPPORT
          None Received

          OPPOSITION
          None Received





























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