ENVIRONMENTAL LEGAL BLOGS

SB 827 IS LAW

    Governor Schwarzenegger has signed the bill into law (on Sunday, October 11).  See post below for a discussion of the bill.

AQMD-RELATED RELIEF IS ON THE GOVERNOR'S DESK

SB 827 is on the Governor’s desk

    Readers may remember that, recently, I wrote about the problem for many businesses and government entities as a result of a State Court ruling holding that the AQMD’s issuance of “offset” credits violates the California Environmental Quality Act, or “CEQA” and imposing a moratorium on the issuance of such credits.  Since such credits are, as a practical matter, required in order for such places to operate under California pollution laws, and since with the moratorium the only place to obtain such credits would be on the open market at incredibly expensive prices, the continued operations of several thousand facilities within the AQMD jurisdiction was threatened.

    I also noted that Senator Roderick D, Wright (D-Inglewood) had introduced legislation that would, despite the Court ruling, provide at least interim relief (while the long-term effects of the Court ruling are sorted out) by re-authorizing the AQMD offset credit allowance.  The legislation has passed both houses of the Legislature and now awaits the Governor’s signature.

    As you may be aware, however, the Governor has threatened not to act on the approximately 700 bills awaiting his decision by a Sunday, October 11, 2009 deadline unless the Legislature first deals with the State’s water supply crisis.  So the fate of SB 827 is far from certain as this column is published.

This post is adapted from a portion of my most recent weekly column for The warner center News, The Valley vantage and The Las Virgenes Enterprise, a group of local papers published in the San Feranndo Valley, California.

EPA BANS R-22 AIR-CONDITIONING REFRIGERANTS

 According to the website All Business, federal EPA is banning the use of the common refrigerant R-22 for use in air conditioning units.  The ban will take effect in 2010.    R-22 is being banned because it releases hydrocarbons into the air, harming the ozone layer. 

    New air-conditioning units manufactured after the ban will contain substitute gases such as R-410A, which supposedly have less of an environmental effect.  The problem, as always, is that there is no "free lunch":  while lessening the threat to the ozone layer, the substitute gas runs at a much higher pressure than does R-22.  According to the article, this will mean greater wear-and-tear on air-conditioning equipment, resulting in more frequent repairs.

SO CAL AQMD CONSIDERS LIMITATIONS/BAN ON WOOD BURNING FIREPLACES

     From today's Los Angeles Times:

Throwing a few logs on the fire on a nippy evening, or boosting a home's market appeal by advertising its wood-burning fireplace, could go the way of the coal chute and the ice box for many Southern Californians if newly proposed air quality regulations are adopted.

As part of air pollution plans designed to meet federal deadlines, South Coast Air Quality Management District officials have proposed a ban on wood-burning fireplaces in all new homes in Los Angeles, Orange and portions of Riverside and San Bernardino counties.

In addition, on winter days when pollution spikes, wood-fueled blazes in all fireplaces would be banned in highly affected areas. That could amount to about 20 days a year, district officials said.

      "Chestnuts roasting on an open fire, Jack Frost nipping at your nose"--watch out, Jack-you're next.