What's New List Serve Post Display

Please consider the following Air Resources Board press release
announcing new measures to address air pollution throughout
California. You can as well review the release online at:
http://www.arb.ca.gov/newsrel/nr092707a.htm .
Thank You
Dimitri Stanich
ARB/PIO
________________________________________________________________



Release 07-40
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
September 27, 2007
	  	  	
Leo Kay
(916) 322-2990 
Karen Caesar
(626) 575-6728
www.arb.ca.gov

Air Resources Board approves State strategy to improve air
quality

Drastic emissions cuts expected in next decade


DIAMOND BAR - The Air Resources Board today approved an
ambitious, multi-faceted plan to significantly improve air
quality throughout the state, along with announcing new measures
on two regional plans geared toward meeting federally mandated
emissions standards and deadlines for the South Coast and San
Joaquin Valley.

"The 2007 State Implementation Plan shows how California expects
to attain clean air through a combination of innovative and
cost-effective measures," said Mary Nichols, ARB Chair. "With
this vital document in place, we have a roadmap to the future
that will keep us on track to meet our air quality goals."

In addition to the State strategy, the ARB approved a plan
submitted by the South Coast Air Quality Management District to
hasten emissions reductions through cooperative measures to be
implemented by both ARB and the SCAQMD. This plan, which will
reduce emissions of the smog precursor oxides of nitrogen (NOx)
by more than 500 tons per day by 2014, now becomes part of the
State SIP, which will be forwarded to the U.S. EPA for final
approval. NOx reacts with sunlight to form ozone, a key
ingredient of smog.

Also approved was an expedited strategy to improve ozone air
quality in the San Joaquin Valley some 90 percent by 2018 in
terms of the federal standard. For example, the strategy calls
for ARB to clean up emissions from farm equipment, and to
partner with the San Joaquin Valley Air Pollution Control
District to accelerate the timeline of the recently passed
off-road construction rules by offering financial incentives to
Valley businesses aimed at getting older, dirtier engines
retrofitted or replaced.

Both the South Coast and San Joaquin plans focus on efforts to
meet federal deadlines specifically for ground-level ozone and
particulate matter (PM2.5) emissions. Target dates for
compliance are 2014 for PM2.5, and 2023 for ozone in areas
designated by the EPA as having "extreme" air pollution such as
the San Joaquin Valley and South Coast Air Basin.

While the federal ozone attainment date for the San Joaquin
Valley remains 2023, ARB's new proposal this week will
fast-track efforts to get 90 percent compliance by 2018. The
last 10 percent will require new technologies that are not
readily available now.

Because ARB scientists determined that reducing emissions of one
pollutant, oxides of nitrogen (NOx), is the most beneficial in
reducing levels of both ozone and PM2.5, the state plan focuses
on curbing pollution from the sources that produce nearly 90
percent of the state's NOx. These sources include cars, heavy
duty trucks, large off-road equipment, ships and locomotives.

The State's cleanup strategy includes the following measures:

    * Clean-up of In-Use Heavy Duty Trucks. This critical
regulation, to be presented to the Board in mid- 2008, will
modernize diesel trucks and reduce emissions by requiring
replacement or cleanup of the dirtiest trucks on the road, and
will also include a program for out-of-state trucks doing
business in California.
    * Targeting Goods Movement Sources. A myriad of measures
take aim at reducing emissions from ships, trucks, harbor craft
and other sources. In October, ARB will consider requiring
owners of commercial harbor craft to either replace old engines
with newer, cleaner versions or add control technologies to
clean up exhaust. In December, ARB will consider a regulation to
provide alternative power supplies at ports so that ship
auxiliary engines can avoid using diesel power while at dock.
Also on the December agenda is a measure requiring retrofit or
replacement of older heavy-duty diesel trucks that service
ports.
    * Targeting Off-Road Sources. In July, the Board approved
this measure which regulates construction and other industrial
equipment, establishing fleet average emission limits and
requiring older, dirtier engines to be replaced by current
models or retrofitted with emission control devices.
Agricultural equipment will also be modernized and cleaned up,
with the Board expected to consider regulation in 2009. 

"California industry has already reduced NOx emissions at a
faster pace than anywhere in the world over the last 40 years by
introducing cleaner technologies," said ARB Chair Nichols.
"Following this strategy will mean progress at an unprecedented
rate. It's what we need to do to protect public health."

The SIP approved today includes both rules that have been
adopted already and rules that are proposed and scheduled for
public input.

Both ozone and fine PM can have significant health impacts.
Ozone contributes to respiratory ailments and asthma, and can
cause premature death in elderly patients with lung disease. It
is a product of a photochemical process involving the sun's
energy and ozone precursors, such as hydrocarbons and oxides of
nitrogen (NOx). Exposure to fine PM exacerbates respiratory and
cardiovascular ailments and is responsible for approximately
8,200 premature deaths per year in the state.

The Air Resources Board is a department of the California
Environmental Protection Agency. ARB's mission is to promote and
protect public health, welfare, and ecological resources through
effective reduction of air pollutants while recognizing and
considering effects on the economy. The ARB oversees all air
pollution control efforts in California to attain and maintain
health based air quality standards.

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