California Air Resources Board

Summary

Would add two environmental justice members, one appointed by the Senate Committee on Rules and one appointed by the Speaker of the Assembly, to the South Coast Air Quality Management Board. Was not heard in the Assembly Natural Resources Committee.

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Summary

Would require an owner or operator of a natural gas plant to develop, install, operate, and maintain, in accordance with guidance developed by the appropriate local air district, a fence-line monitoring system to measure and record methane concentrations at or adjacent to a natural gas plant. The bill would require the local air district and the owner or operator of a natural gas plant to collect real-time data from these fence-line monitoring systems, provide that data to the public, and maintain records of that data. The bill would require an owner or operator of a natural gas plant to report methane concentrations readings that exceed background levels to the local air district and requires the local air district to report those readings to Members of the Legislature representing the district in which the natural gas plant is located. The bill would require the owner or operator of a natural gas plant to be responsible for the costs associated with the fence-line monitoring system. Was not heard in the Assembly Natural Resources Committee.

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Summary

Would require air districts that have a nonattainment area for one or more air pollutants to adopt an expedited schedule for the implementation of best available control technology, expands best available control retrofit technology (BARCT) requirements in those air districts to other industrial sources beside those that participate in CARB’s Cap-and Trade program, and prohibits industrial sources that fail to implement BARCT by December 31, 2023 from participating in the Cap and Trade program. Was not heard in the Assembly Committee on Natural Resources.

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Summary

Would allow a local air district to adopt and implement regulations to require data regarding air pollution within the district’s jurisdiction from indirect and areawide sources, including mobile sources drawn by those stationary sources, to enable the calculation of health risks from toxic air contaminants. The bill would also specify that a local air district, in carrying out its responsibilities with respect to the reduction of health risks from toxic air contaminants, may adopt and implement regulations to reduce or mitigate emissions from new and existing indirect and areawide sources of air pollution, or to encourage or require the use of measures which reduce the number or length of vehicle trips. Was not heard in the Natural Resources Committee.

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Summary

Would have authorized a local air district, consistent with federal law, to adopt or revise, a rule to specify that hours for usage due to the loss of normal electrical service during a deenergization event by a permitted natural-gas-powered emergency backup generator that is either federally compliant or CARB designated shall not count toward that permit’s conditions for usage.  Was not heard in the Assembly Natural Resources Committee.

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Summary

Spot bill related to refinery-related community air monitoring systems and refinery fence-line monitoring systems.  Remains in the Senate Rules Committee.

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Summary

Would have required a local air district without a specified rule on emergency backup generators as of January 1, 2021, that adopted such a rule to include in the rule provisions that would have allowed the operator of a critical facility, as defined, to use a permitted emergency backup generator in exceedance of the applicable runtime and testing and maintenance limits if specified conditions are met.  The bill would have required a critical facility allowed to exceed applicable limits under the rule adopted pursuant to Senate Bill 1099 to attest to and provide evidence of having taken demonstrable steps toward implementing the use of backup power technologies that meet or exceed emission standards set by CARB.  Was not heard in the Assembly Natural Resources Committee.

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Summary

Would have required a local air district to adopt a rule or revise its existing rules, consistent with federal law, to allow a health facility that has received a permit from the district to construct and operate an emergency backup generator to use that emergency backup generator during a deenergization event without having that usage count toward any time limitation on actual usage and routine testing and maintenance included as a condition for issuance of that permit.  The bill would have required, if an electrical corporation, electrical cooperative, or local publicly owned electric utility had undertaken a deenergization event during a calendar year, that the electrical corporation, electrical cooperative, or local publicly owned electric utility, by January 30 of the following calendar year, submit a report with specified information to each local air district affected by the deenergization event.  Was not heard in the Senate Environmental Quality Committee.

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Summary

Would have authorized a transactions and use tax to be placed on the ballot for approval by the South Coast Air Quality Management District’s (SCAQMD) electorate, if it had been approved by a majority vote of the SCAQMD’s governing board.  The bill would have required the SCAQMD to establish an independent taxpayers’ oversight committee within six months of the effective date of the transactions and use tax levy, increase, or extension to ensure that revenues generated by the levy, increase, or extension are expended consistent with the applicable requirements of the bill.  The bill would have required that all moneys received by SCAQMD from the transactions and use tax be used to implement projects that reduce air pollution through incentives and other measures to first fully implement SCAQMD’s state implementation plan and any subsequent air quality attainment plans, as specified.  Was not heard in the Senate Appropriations Committee.

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Summary

Would have required a local air district hearing board to send a notice of a hearing to consider an application for an interim variance not less than 72 hours prior to the hearing to any person who requests the notice.  Was amended to deal with public peace.

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