BILL ANALYSIS
AB 2042
Page 1
ONCURRENCE IN SENATE AMENDMENTS
AB 2042 (Lowenthal)
As Amended August 17, 2004
Majority vote
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|ASSEMBLY: |45-31|(May 20, 2004) |SENATE: |21-16|(August 19, |
| | | | | |2004) |
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Original Committee Reference: TRANS.
SUMMARY : Prohibits air pollution at the Ports of Long Beach and
Los Angeles (Ports) from exceeding baseline levels.
The Senate amendments :
1)Delete the substantive provisions that were previously in this
bill.
2)Require the South Coast Air Quality Management District
(SCAQMD), on or before September 1, 2005, to establish a
baseline for air quality for the Ports.
3)Require the baseline to be based on data collected by SCAQMD
regarding the level of emissions in the Ports during 2004 from
oceangoing vessels and harbor craft, cargo handling equipment,
rail locomotives, and commercial motor vehicles.
4)Require the baseline to be based on emissions levels in the
Ports during 2004 from oxides of nitrogen, carbon monoxide,
PM2.5 and PM10, particulate matter from diesel fuel, and
sulfur dioxide.
5)Require SCAQMD, the Air Resources Board (ARB) and the Ports,
on or before September 1, 2005, to develop and enter into a
Memorandum of Agreement (MOA) to implement emission control
measures related to operations at each of those ports.
6)Require MOA to include:
a) A requirement that, on or before January 1, 2006, and on
or before January 1 of each year thereafter, the level of
air pollution at the Ports not exceed the baseline
established under this bill;
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b) Enforcement provisions that are within the jurisdiction
of the implementing agencies;
c) A process for public input and comment on any proposal
prior to final agreement;
d) A requirement that the Ports reimburse ARB for all costs
incurred as a result of developing MOA; and,
e) A requirement that the Ports waive any claim to
reimbursement by the state for costs incurred as a result
of developing and implementing MOA.
7)Require, if MOA has not been agreed to by September 1, 2005,
all of the following:
a) Each of the Ports to develop baselines for air quality
for the individual ports;
b) The air quality baselines to be based on data collected
by the port regarding the level of emissions in the Ports
during 2004 from specified sources and specified air
pollutants; and,
c) The Ports to submit the baselines developed by them to
SCAQMD for approval.
8)Require the Ports, on or before January 1, 2006, to operate in
a manner that prevents the level of air pollution at the Ports
from exceeding the baselines developed and approved under this
bill.
9)Require the Ports, on March 1, 2006, and on March 1 of each
year thereafter, to report to SCAQMD regarding their
compliance including, but not limited to, an accounting of
their programs and efforts that are directed towards that
compliance.
10)State legislative intent that these provisions are intended
to grant only oversight authority to SCAQMD with respect to
the baselines developed by the Ports.
11)Allow ARB and SCAQMD to adopt and implement regulations for
any source of emissions at any California port.
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EXISTING LAW vests responsibility for developing and enforcing
air pollution control measures with ARB and various regional air
quality management districts and air pollution control
districts.
AS PASSED BY THE ASSEMBLY , this bill:
1)Made 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)Required SCAQMD to establish a baseline for air quality in the
Port of Long Beach based on that port's 2002 emission
inventory.
3)Required SCAQMD to establish a baseline for air quality at the
Port of Los Angeles based on that port's 2001 emission
inventory.
4)Required those baselines to only cover the following
contaminant emissions from vessels and harbor craft, cargo
handling equipment, locomotives, and commercial vehicles:
a) Oxides on nitrogen;
b) Particulate matter;
c) Sulfur dioxide; and,
d) Total hydrocarbons.
5)Required 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 this bill.
6)Required both cities, every March 1 beginning in 2006, to
report to SCAQMD regarding their compliance with this
pollution restriction.
7)Allowed SCAQMD to impose a fee on each city in an amount that
does not exceed its costs in administering this bill's
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requirements.
8)Authorized the Ports to establish emission reduction credit
trading programs or emission offset programs from the sources
identified in the bill, if approved by SCAQMD or ARB.
9)Clarified that this bill was intended to only grant oversight
authority to SCAQMD with respect to the baselines established
by the Ports based on their respective emissions inventories.
FISCAL EFFECT : According to the Senate Appropriations Committee
analysis, ARB will sustain costs of $100,000 in fiscal year (FY)
2004-05, $150,000 in FY 2005-06, and $50,000 in FY 2006-07.
SCAQMD will have unknown, non reimbursable costs. The Ports
will have mandated costs potentially in excess of $300,000 that
are reimbursable.
COMMENTS : The author asserts that the Long Beach Freeway in the
vicinity of the Ports 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 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 (Association), in
opposing this 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 this 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
AB 2042
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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 ARB and
federal EPA.
Analysis Prepared by : Howard Posner / TRANS. / (916) 319-2093
FN: 0008193