Bradley Anti-Smog Plan Revs Up a Controversy

Mayor Tom Bradley, criticizing Reagan and Deukmejian Administration actions, on Wednesday proposed his own plan to reduce air pollution from diesel engines--and was quickly attacked by the governor’s chief smog fighter.

“State and federal agencies charged with controlling smog have failed to take strong, decisive action,” the mayor told a news conference held amid the diesel fumes of an Arco truck fuel station at 5th and Alameda streets.

“Unfortunately, the mayor seems to be either unaware of what’s being done or is badly misinformed about our program to clean up diesels,” replied Gordon Duffy, chairman of the California Air Resources Board.

For Bradley, running for a fourth term against Councilman John Ferraro, the attack represented a change of pace from recent days devoted to city issues--and could provide ammunition for Ferraro’s contention that the mayor, who lost to Deukmejian in 1982, is more interested in taking on the governor again than running for mayor.

But, on the plus side, it was a new environmental issue for Bradley, under attack from environmentalists for his decision to allow Occidental Petroleum Corp. to drill for oil in Pacific Palisades. Significantly, Deputy Mayor Tom Houston, a strong environmentalist and an oil-drilling foe, was at the mayor’s side at the press conference and stepped in to answer technical questions, indicating that he had a strong role in preparing Bradley’s presentation.

Bradley stepped into a dispute that has been raging for some time. In 1983, the South Coast Air Quality Management District, the area’s smog control agency, asked the state to limit diesel passenger cars in the district, charging that diesel emissions were hurting health and visibility. By last July, California motorists were expressing anger because diesel trucks, cars and buses were exempted from state smog control inspection devices.

List of Proposals

Bradley’s plan would eliminate such exemptions. Part of the plan would require state and federal action and part could be accomplished by city government. In addition to requiring auto diesel engine inspections, Bradley proposed:

- Immediate action by the state Resources Board to eliminate an exemption granted small refineries from meeting state standards on low sulfur diesel fuel. Jim Birakos, deputy executive director of the South Coast Air Quality Management District, said major refineries, including Arco, Mobil, Shell and Chevron, meet the state standards for sulfur, but eight small refineries, four of them now producing, have been exempted by state law.

- A city tax of possibly 13 cents a gallon on substandard diesel fuel produced by the small refineries if the state does not act. Houston said this tax would force these refineries to meet state standards or close down.

- Adoption by the state of regulations requiring all refineries to meet new, and higher diesel standards. Birakos said oil companies have told the district this could raise the cost of fuel by 12 cents to 42 cents a gallon.

- A fight against federal Environmental Protection Agency efforts to relax diesel standards.

- A requirement that city agencies buy diesel fuel only from refineries that meet standards.

- Use of $1.2 million in city-controlled federal Environmental Protection Agency funds to help the Southern California Rapid Transit District buy 30 methanol-fueled buses to determine if they can eventually replace the diesel fleet.

An RTD spokesman said the district already has decided to buy such buses. The district’s 2,600 buses now use Grade 2 low-sulfur diesel fuel, purchased from a major refinery which meets state standards.

Duffy said the state ARB already has scheduled a hearing April 26 to consider regulations eliminating the exemption from state standards now given the small refineries, or at least to tighten the standards.

And he said the board “has been leading a group of other states that is urging EPA to tighten its proposals for cleaning up diesel trucks and buses, and the Air Resources Board has initiated legislation to include diesels in the inspection program.”

“If Mayor Bradley would like to join any of our efforts, he is certainly welcome to do so,” Duffy said.