BILL ANALYSIS
AB 2042
Page 1
Date of Hearing: April 12, 2004
ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON TRANSPORTATION
Jenny Oropeza, Chair
AB 2042 (Lowenthal) - As Amended: April 1, 2004
SUBJECT : Port of Long Beach and the Port of Los Angeles: air
pollution
SUMMARY : Prohibits growth at the ports from increasing air
pollution. Specifically, this bill :
1)Makes legislative findings and declarations regarding the
health risks attributable to diesel engine exhaust and the
federal requirement that certain regions with high levels of
air pollution must demonstrate that construction of new
highways will not worsen air pollution.
2)Requires the South Coast Air Quality Management District
(SCAQMD) to establish a baseline for air quality in the Port
of Long Beach based on that port's 2001 emission inventory.
3)Requires the SCAQMD to establish a baseline for air quality at
the Port of Los Angeles based on that port's 2002-emission
inventory.
4)Requires those baselines to include emissions from vessels and
harbor craft, cargo handling equipment, locomotives, and
commercial vehicles.
5)Requires the Cities of Long Beach and Los Angeles to require
growth and operations at their respective ports to be limited
or controlled so that air pollution does not exceed the
baselines established under the bill.
6)Requires both cities, every March 1 beginning in 2006, to
report to the SCAQMD regarding their compliance with this
pollution restriction.
7)Allows the SCAQMD to impose a fee on each city to recover its
costs in administering the bill's requirements.
EXISTING LAW : Vests responsibility for developing and enforcing
air pollution control measures with the Air Resources Board
(ARB) and various regional air quality management districts and
AB 2042
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air pollution control districts.
FISCAL EFFECT : Unknown
COMMENTS : The author asserts that the Long Beach Freeway in the
vicinity of the Ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach is
overwhelmed by truck traffic, which is projected to more than
double, to 83,000 vehicles per day, in the next 20 years. Most
of these trucks are diesel-powered and diesel particulate matter
(PM) emissions have been identified as a toxic air contaminant
by air quality officials. These officials believe the Ports are
the largest single source of air pollution in the four-county
Los Angeles region and that trucks and ships are the primary
sources of port-related pollution.
Supporters lament the fact that in the vicinity of the ports,
the lifetime excess cancer risk is 1,400 per million people
exposed, far above the one-in-a-million level the federal
Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) deems to be acceptable.
They also point out that the ports are "virtually next door" to
residential neighborhoods, schools, and playgrounds.
The Pacific Merchant Shipping Association, in opposing the bill,
counters that more than 1,000 container-moving equipment at the
ports have been, or soon will be, fitted with particulate traps
or diesel oxidation catalysts, while hundreds of pieces of
cargo-handling equipment are using clean-burning emulsified
fuel. Various other initiatives are underway to reduce
emissions as well. The Association contends that the bill
conflicts with state and federal law and policies and "erects a
vague and potentially prohibitive obstacle to future growth
(that would) send a negative message to the international trade
community." The Association particularly cautions against
assigning mobile source emission regulation to a regional
agency, a prospect that could create "islands of divergent
authority for sources that travel between air districts (and
other state and federal jurisdictions." For this reason, they
believe authority should remain with the ARB and federal EPA.
REGISTERED SUPPORT / OPPOSITION :
Support
American Lung Association
California Environmental Rights Alliance
AB 2042
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Clean Power Campaign
Coalition for Clean Air
Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC)
Sierra Club-California
Opposition
Pacific Merchant Shipping Association
Analysis Prepared by : Howard Posner / TRANS. / (916) 319-2093