BILL ANALYSIS                                                                                                                                                                                                    Ó



                                                                    AB 1496


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          Date of Hearing:  April 27, 2015


                       ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON NATURAL RESOURCES


                                 Das Williams, Chair


          AB 1496  
          (Thurmond) - As Introduced February 27, 2015


          SUBJECT:  Methane emissions


          SUMMARY:  Requires the Air Resources Board (ARB), no later than  
          January 1, 2017 and in consultation with local air districts, to  
          adopt a program to measure, monitor, regulate, and reduce  
          emissions of methane in order to protect air quality and public  
          health and reduce global warming.


          EXISTING LAW:


          1)Requires ARB, pursuant to California Global Warming Solutions  
            Act of 2006 (AB 32), to adopt regulations to achieve maximum  
            technologically feasible and cost-effective reductions in  
            emissions of greenhouse gases, including methane.

          2)Requires ARB to complete a comprehensive strategy to reduce  
            emissions of short-lived climate pollutants (SLCPs), including  
            methane, by January 1, 2016.

          3)Designates ARB as the air pollution control agency responsible  
            for the coordination of the activities of air pollution  
            control districts and air quality management districts for the  
            purposes of the federal Clean Air Act. 








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          4)Requires air districts to adopt and enforce rules and  
            regulations to achieve and maintain the state and federal  
            ambient air quality standards in all areas affected by  
            non-vehicular emission sources under their jurisdiction. 

          5)Generally prohibits a person from discharging air contaminants  
            or other material that cause injury, detriment, nuisance, or  
            annoyance or endanger the comfort, repose, health or safety to  
            any considerable number of persons, or to the public, or that  
            cause, or have a tendency to cause injury or damage to a  
            business or property.

          FISCAL EFFECT:  Unknown


          COMMENTS:


          1)Background.  As part of AB 32's direction that ARB adopt a  
            statewide GHG emissions limit equivalent to 1990 levels by  
            2020 and adopt regulations to achieve maximum technologically  
            feasible and cost-effective GHG emission reductions, AB 32  
            requires ARB to prepare and approve a scoping plan at  
            five-year intervals.  
            The first AB 32 scoping plan, adopted by ARB in 2008,  
            described the specific measures ARB and others must take to  
            reduce statewide GHG emissions to 1990 levels by 2020.  In May  
            2014, ARB adopted a scoping plan update.  The scoping plan  
            update discusses the objective of achieving an 80% reduction  
            by 2050 and the need for a midterm target, but does not  
            propose or adopt a specific target.  According to ARB, the  
            update defines ARB's climate change priorities for the next  
            five years and sets the groundwork to reach California's  
            long-term climate goals.  Among its provisions, the update  
            commits ARB to develop a SLCP strategy by 2015 that will  
            include an inventory of sources and emissions, the  
            identification of additional research needs, and a plan for  
            developing SLCP control measures.  SB 605 (Lara), Chapter 523,  








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            Statutes of 2014, requires ARB to complete a comprehensive  
            SLCP strategy by January 1, 2016.


          2)Author's statement:


               Methane is a gas that is emitted from both natural and  
               human sources.  Its concentration in the global atmosphere  
               has more than doubled since the beginning of the Industrial  
               Revolution.  Methane is a SLCP with a lifetime of only  
               about 12 years when released into the atmosphere.  It is an  
               extremely potent GHG, with 20-30 times the warming power of  
               carbon dioxide over a 100-year period (and more than 80  
               times over a 20-year period).  Methane also impacts local  
               air quality and community health through its participation  
               in the formation of ozone, as well as water vapor, the most  
               powerful of the common causes of warming.


               Although SB 605 required ARB to develop a comprehensive  
               SLCP strategy by January 1, 2016, it is imperative that  
               methane leakage be studied without delay because of its  
               proven negative impact on both snow pack levels and local  
               air pollution.  With California experiencing the worst  
               drought in recorded history, we must act now to curtail  
               methane leakage.


          REGISTERED SUPPORT / OPPOSITION:




          Support


          Clean Power Campaign (sponsor)









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          California League of Conservation Voters


          Californians Against Waste


          Coalition for Clean Air


          Energy Source


          Environment California


          Environmental Action Committee of West Marin


          Sierra Club California




          Opposition


          California Cattlemen's Association


          California Farm Bureau Federation


          California Rice Commission













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          Analysis Prepared by:Lawrence Lingbloom / NAT. RES. / (916)  
          319-2092