New Laws to Make AQMD Accountable Urged

Pointing to the failure of the South Coast Air Basin to meet U.S. clean air goals, state and federal lawmakers called Wednesday for new laws to hold the region’s air quality board accountable for its record.

In the first state Senate oversight hearing held since the South Coast Air Quality Management District was created by state law 10 years ago, members of Congress and the California Legislature agreed that more has to be done to clean the air in the nation’s smoggiest area.

Some lawmakers charged that the AQMD board had failed to implement pollution control rules needed to meet federal Clean Air Act deadlines and had weakened others. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has previously criticized the district on the same grounds.

The AQMD, which regulates air pollution in Los Angeles, Orange, San Bernardino and Riverside counties, is currently under the closest scrutiny in its history. The EPA and state Air Resources Board and the General Accounting Office are all looking into the AQMD’s air pollution control rules and enforcement efforts.

“A performance problem does exist. New (pollution control) legislation is not the remedy. Administrative malpractice is not solved by state law. We need . . . greater emphasis on accountability,” Gladys Meade of the American Lung Assn. told the Senate panel.

State Sen. Robert B. Presley (D-Riverside), who chaired the hearing, said he plans to introduce an AQMD reorganization bill when the Legislature convenes in January. Presley stated that it is too early to say what provisions his bill would contain but he is considering making some board positions elective jobs.

Rep. George E. Brown Jr. (D-Riverside) said he shared the committee’s concern about the AQMD’s track record in failing to follow through on its own plans to reduce smog.

Assemblyman Herschel Rosenthal (D-Los Angeles) said: “It is clear there are political problems the AQMD is faced with when they seek more reductions (in emissions). Some established industries feel they have a right to pollute.” Rosenthal singled out the oil industry and said the AQMD should “have no sacred cows” in enforcing clean air laws.

Progress has been made in cleaning the air, said James Boyd, executive officer of the state Air Resources Board. He noted that smog levels in the basin are 20% lower now than five years ago. But he said the region faces an uphill struggle without a dramatic shift from reliance on gasoline-powered vehicles and an oil-based economy.

Nonetheless, critics of the district said Wednesday that the AQMD board’s composition did not help. The 14-member board is appointed by state and local officials or their committees and this often insulates members from being held accountable, Presley said.

“It’s like an octopus out there going in all different directions with no real head pulling it together,” Presley said.

According to AQMD records, of the 51 board meetings since January, 1983, Los Angles County Supervisors Ed Edelman and Peter Schabarum, have never attended a single meeting.

Orange County Supervisor Bruce Nestande attended just 6% of the meetings while colleague Harriett Wieder attended 41% of the time. Los Angeles City Councilman Marvin Braude has attended 24% of the time. Riverside County Supervisor Norton Younglove attended 92% of the time and two San Bernardino County supervisors, who shared responsibilities, attended 29% of the time.

The elected officials typically have sent alternates to represent them.