BILL ANALYSIS
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|SENATE RULES COMMITTEE | AB 2042|
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THIRD READING
Bill No: AB 2042
Author: Lowenthal (D)
Amended: 8/17/04 in Senate
Vote: 21
SENATE ENV. QUALITY COMMITTEE : 5-2, 7/1/04
AYES: Sher, Chesbro, Figueroa, Kuehl, Romero
NOES: Morrow, McPherson
SENATE APPROPRIATIONS COMMITTEE : 7-6, 8/12/04
AYES: Alpert, Bowen, Burton, Escutia, Karnette, Murray,
Speier
NOES: Battin, Aanestad, Ashburn, Johnson, Machado,
Poochigian
ASSEMBLY FLOOR : 45-31, 5/20/04 - See last page for vote
SUBJECT : Ports: Port of Los Angeles: Port of Long
Beach: air
pollution
SOURCE : Author
DIGEST : This bill (1) requires the South Coast Air
Quality Management District (SCAQMD), by September 1, 2005,
to establish a baseline for air quality for the ports of
Los Angles and Long Beach, as specified, (2) requires
SCAQMD, the State Air Resources Board (ARB), the Port of
Los Angeles, and the Port of Long Beach to develop and
enter into a Memorandum of Agreement (MOA) to implement
emission-control measures related to operations at each of
CONTINUED
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those ports, and (3) requires ARB to report annually,
commencing January 1, 2006, regarding the development and
implementation of the MOA. If an MOA is not entered into
by September 1, 2005, this bill requires the ports to
develop a baseline for air quality for each port, as
specified and requires that the data be submitted to the
SCAQMD for approval.
ANALYSIS :
Existing law:
1. Requires the ARB to endeavor to achieve the maximum
degree of emission reduction possible from vehicular and
mobile sources of air pollution in order to accomplish
the attainment of the state ambient air quality
standards at the earliest practicable date.
2. Requires air districts to adopt and enforce rules and
regulations to achieve and maintain ambient air quality
standards in all areas affected by emission sources
under their jurisdiction, and to enforce all applicable
provisions of state and federal law.
3. Designates the state board as having the primary
responsibility for the control of emissions from motor
vehicles in the state, and designates the districts as
having the primary control from all sources other than
vehicular sources.
4. Requires marine terminals in the state to operate in a
manner that does not cause trucks to idle or queue for
more than 30 minutes while waiting to load or unload at
the terminal, and charges the district with geographical
jurisdiction over that marine terminal with enforcing
the requirement.
This bill:
1. On or before September 1, 2005, requires the SCAQMD to
establish a baseline for air quality for the Port of Los
Angeles and the Port of Long Beach that is:
A. Based on data collected by the district on the
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level of emissions in those ports during 2004 from
oceangoing vessels and harbor craft, cargo handling
equipment, rail locomotives, and commercial motor
vehicles.
B. Based on data collected by the district on
emissions levels in those ports during 2004 from
oxides of nitrogen, carbon monoxide, particulate
matter, and sulfur dioxide.
2. Requires the SCAQMD, the ARB, the Port of Los Angeles,
and the Port of Long Beach to develop and enter into a
MOA to implement emission control measures related to
operations at each of those ports.
3. Requires the MOA to include certain provisions,
including:
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 Port of Los Angeles
and the Port of Long Beach not exceed the specified
baseline.
B. A requirement that the Port of Long Beach and the
Port of Los Angeles reimburse the ARB for all costs
incurred as a result of developing the MOA and that
the ports waive any claim to reimbursement by the
state for costs incurred as a result of developing
and implementing the MOA.
4. Requires the SCAQMD, ARB, the Port of Los Angeles, and
the Port of Long Beach to consult with the federal
Environmental Protection Agency, industry stakeholders,
community and homeowner groups near the Port of Los
Angeles and the Ports of Long Beach, and environmental
organizations.
5. Provides that nothing in the MOA shall affect efforts to
regulate port emissions.
6. If the MOA has not been entered into by all of the
parties specified in (1) above:
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A. On or before September 1, 2005, requires each port
to develop a baseline for air quality for that port,
based on data collected by the port regarding the
level of emissions in the port during 2004 for the
same sources and pollutants described in (2)(a)
above, to submit the baselines to the SCAQMD for
approval, but specifies that the SCAQMD's role is one
of oversight with respect to the baseline.
B. Requires the ports, on or before January 1, 2006
and on or before January 1 of each year thereafter,
from exceeding the baseline.
C. Requires the ports, on March 1, 2006, and on March
1 of each year thereafter, to report to the SCAQMD
regarding the port's compliance with the limitation
requirement relating to port growth and operations,
including an accounting of the port's programs and
efforts that are directed towards that compliance.
7. Makes various legislative findings and declarations
relative to diesel pollution and its effects on public
health.
FISCAL EFFECT : Appropriation: No Fiscal Com.: Yes
Local: No
According to the Senate Appropriations Committee, no state
cost.
SUPPORT : (Verified 8/17/04)
American Federation of State, County and Municipal
Employees
American Lung Association of California
California Environmental Rights Alliance
City of Long Beach
City of Los Angeles (if amended)
Clean Power Campaign
Coalition for Clean Air
Gateway Council of Governments
Natural Resources Defense Council
Sierra Club California
South Coast Air Quality Management District
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OPPOSITION : (Verified 8/17/04)
Associated General Contractors
California Association of Port Authorities
California Business Properties Association
California Chamber of Commerce
California Chapters of the National Association of
Industrial and Office Parks
California Cotton Ginners Association
California Cotton Growers Association
California Film Extruders and Converters Association
California Grain & Feed Association
California Independent Oil Marketers Association
California League of Food Processors
California Manufacturers and Technology Association
California Railroad Industry
California Warehouse Association
Chemical Industry Council of California
Construction Industry Air Quality Coalition
Grocery Manufacturers of America
Harbor Association of Industry & Commerce
International Council of Cruise Lines
International Council of Shopping Centers
Los Angeles Area Chamber of Commerce
Long Beach Chamber of Commerce
Lumber Association of California
Lumber Association of Nevada
Matson Navigation Company
Pacific Merchant Shipping Association
Port of Long Beach
Retail Industry Leaders Association
Society of the Plastics Industry
State Department of Finance
Western Home Furnishings Association
Western States Petroleum Association
ARGUMENTS IN SUPPORT : According to the author's
office:
"The volume of goods moving through the ports of Los
Angeles and Long Beach has quadrupled in the last seven
years and will likely quadruple again in the next 15
years. These goods are transported from the ports
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primarily by diesel fueled trucks.
"The ports of Long Beach and Los Angeles operate on
state tide and submerged lands, which means that the
ports are the steward for these state lands and must
manage them in a manner that benefits all Californians.
"Given the anticipated growth at the ports, and given
the fact that diesel fuel exhaust has been determined
to cause cancer, and that emissions from the ports are
the single largest source of air pollution in the
four-county South Coast Air Basin, it is important to
limit the increase in toxic, cancer-causing emissions
while the ports grow.
"Operations at the Port of Long Beach and Port of Los
Angeles account for approximately 17% of the NOx
(oxides of nitrogen), out of the four-county South
Coast Air Basin.
"A study conducted by these ports predicts that
heavy-duty vehicle traffic (powered by diesel fuel) to
and from the ports will more than double in the next 20
years, from roughly 35,000 vehicles per day to nearly
83,000 vehicles per day.
"On Wednesday June 9, 2004, the Harbor Commissioners
for the Port of Los Angeles approved a proposal that
would commit at least 10% of the Ports annual revenue
(approx. $500 million), to fight air pollution caused
by operations at the port. This annual commitment
comes to approx. $50 million a year.
"Doctors have linked high smog levels in Los Angeles to
increased rates of asthma. Air pollution has been
linked to higher rates of cancer and respiratory
disease. In Long Beach, 15 percent of children age 17
or younger have been diagnosed with asthma, according
to a 2003 county health survey. That compares with 12
percent countywide and about 8 percent nationally.
"According to the South Coast Air Quality Management
District, cancer risk estimates at the ports are about
1,400 per million people exposed, far above the
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1-in-a-million risk level considered "acceptable" by
the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. According to
the District, the ports are the largest single source
of air pollution in the four-county jurisdiction of the
District.
"Southern California risks losing $12.1 billion in
federal highway funds if federal Clean Air Act
standards aren't met by 2010. So far, the basin has
failed to meet national standards for ozone or for
particulate emissions.
"Of the sources at the ports, trucks and ships are the
biggest polluters. The diesel trucks serving the ports
emit about 47 tons of NOx each day just within port
boundaries, out of a basin-wide total of 1,056 tons,
the AQMD says. Ships and commercial boats add another
49 tons a day, while an unknown portion of the 181 tons
of NOx from diesel equipment also comes from the ports.
Trains in the region add another 36 tons of NOx, some
of which can be traced to old diesel locomotives at the
ports."
ARGUMENTS IN OPPOSITION : Opponents to this bill state:
"AB 2042 directs the South Coast Air Quality Management
to establish a baseline for air quality in the Port of
Long Beach and Los Angeles based on previous emission
inventories. The City of Long Beach and the City of
Los Angeles are then saddled with the burden and
responsibility of not exceeding those baselines. These
baselines consist primarily of emissions from mobile
sources, such as ocean-going vessels, locomotives, and
diesel trucks. Although these sources are associated
with routine port operations, they are not directly
operated or controlled by the ports.
"Pursuant to the federal Clean Air Act, authority to
regulate emissions from most of the mobile sources
whose emissions are to be included in the baselines
rests with the U.S. EPA and, to a lesser extent, the
California ARB. The South Coast District, the City of
Long Beach and the City of Los Angeles do not currently
have jurisdiction to regulate emissions from most of
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these sources, and in fact would be expressly preempted
from doing so in most instances by the Clean Air Act.
"The Ports of Long Beach and Los Angeles are the two
largest container ports in the United States, with the
overwhelming majority of their container volumes
involving shipments to and from Pacific Rim countries.
There is little dispute that the level of trade between
the United States and the Far East is anticipated to
continue to increase significantly in the coming years.
"As drafted, AB 2042 has the potential to limit
operations in the Ports of Long Beach and Los Angeles
to 2001 and 2002 levels, respectively. To the extent
operations at these two ports are frozen (or
potentially even reduced to past levels), other ports
and international airports along the west coast of the
United States, Mexico and Canada will need to be
upgraded and expanded to accommodate the increased
volume of international trade that everyone seems to
acknowledge is to come. Companies throughout the
United States who receive or ship goods flowing through
the Ports of Long Beach or Los Angeles may also need to
adjust their business plans."
ASSEMBLY FLOOR :
AYES: Berg, Bermudez, Calderon, Canciamilla, Chan, Chavez,
Chu, Corbett, Diaz, Dutra, Dymally, Firebaugh, Frommer,
Goldberg, Hancock, Jerome Horton, Jackson, Kehoe, Koretz,
Laird, Leno, Levine, Lieber, Liu, Longville, Lowenthal,
Maldonado, Montanez, Mullin, Nakano, Nation, Negrete
McLeod, Oropeza, Pavley, Reyes, Ridley-Thomas, Salinas,
Simitian, Steinberg, Vargas, Wesson, Wiggins, Wolk, Yee,
Nunez
NOES: Aghazarian, Bates, Benoit, Bogh, Cogdill, Correa,
Cox, Daucher, Dutton, Garcia, Harman, Haynes, Shirley
Horton, Houston, Keene, La Malfa, La Suer, Leslie,
Maddox, Matthews, McCarthy, Mountjoy, Nakanishi, Pacheco,
Parra, Plescia, Runner, Samuelian, Spitzer, Strickland,
Wyland
NO VOTE RECORDED: Campbell, Cohn, Maze, Richman
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CP:mel 8/21/04 Senate Floor Analyses
SUPPORT/OPPOSITION: SEE ABOVE
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