Air District Sued Over Issuance of Pollution Credit to Defunct Firm

The South Coast Air Quality Management District was sued Monday because it issued to a defunct printing plant an “emissions reduction credit” that could be sold to a currently polluting company.

The Los Angeles Superior Court was asked to rescind the credit issued to Arcata Graphics Co. and to refuse to accept that credit from any firm that might buy it.

The civil suit was filed by the Center for Law in the Public Interest on behalf of the American Lung Assn. of California, Citizens for a Better Environment and Gladys Meade, environmental health director for the Lung Assn. and a former AQMD board member.

Federal and state laws permit pollution control authorities to issue credits to companies that reduce pollutants in one area, permitting them to pollute in another area if the overall result is cleaner air. If the company does not need the credit or goes out of business, it can “bank” the credit for future use or sell it.

The plaintiffs argue that “the district has violated the cardinal principle of emission trading in the Clean Air Act and federal laws: that any ERC (emissions reduction credit) must achieve emission reduction greater than the created increase.”

The suit claims that Arcata never substantiated the pollution reduction it claimed in cutting the amount of alcohol used in lithographic printing at its Pacific Press in Los Angeles.

Jim Birakos, an AQMD official, said Arcata’s credit was issued without violating any laws. He said the AQMD is analyzing the suit and will defend its actions in court.