Ride-Sharing Exemptions Are Sought for County Firms

Orange County transportation officials have been meeting privately with the South Coast Air Quality Management District in a bid to have employers in the county exempted from a mandatory ride-sharing program being considered by the district, both agencies acknowledged this week.

The proposed ride sharing is among sweeping new measures being weighed by the air district. Among the most controversial of these proposals are development fees that might be imposed on builders of new housing tracts, shopping centers, stadiums and other sources of traffic.

Companies with more than 100 employees would be subject to the district’s ride-sharing program and would be required to draft and submit plans under which their workers could hope to achieve occupancy rates of 1.3 to 1.75 people per vehicle during peak traffic periods.

With exceptions made for “good-faith efforts,” failure to submit such a plan within a year could result in penalties of up to six months in jail and a $25,000 fine for each day of non-compliance. The same possible penalties would apply to efforts to implement the plans once submitted.

Orange County Transportation Commission officials said this week they are seeking an exemption for businesses in this county to give voluntary efforts organized by OCTC a chance to work. They say the air district’s proposed rules could drastically change residents’ life styles.

Written by the OCTC staff, the voluntary plan is called the Traffic Reduction Incentive Program. A model city ordinance establishing such a program has been submitted by the transportation commission to city staffs in Costa Mesa, Fullerton and Cypress.

The transportation commission hopes that it will be implemented on a trial basis in those three cities and the unincorporated area around El Toro in January. The program is based on peer pressure within the business community, rather than penalties. The goal is to reduce the number of cars on the road that have just one occupant by 30% through ride-sharing incentives offered to employees.

Stan Oftelie, OCTC executive director, told commission members at a meeting Monday that he intends to testify on behalf of an exemption for Orange County at the air quality district’s Dec. 11 public hearing in El Monte. That hearing will deal only with the air quality district’s ride-sharing proposal.

Later, Oftelie said his staff members have held discussions with district officials about substituting Orange County’s voluntary efforts for the proposed mandatory rules.

“We think we can achieve the same goals, and we want a chance to prove it,” Oftelie said.

The Los Angeles Basin recently came through its best smog season ever but still does not meet federal clean-air standards.

“We’ve cut no deals,” said John Dunlap, the air district’s community relations coordinator. “But we have been discussing with Orange County how exemptions may be obtained. We’re requiring a program that’s as good or better than ours.”

The district’s jurisdiction includes Los Angeles, Orange, Riverside and San Bernardino counties. According to district officials, Orange County is contributing significantly to air pollution in the Los Angeles Basin.

Air pollution involves many different gases, chemicals and airborne particles, and Orange County contributes different amounts of each type, officials said.

According to air district spokesman Tom Eichorn, Orange County contributed 248 tons per day of the basin’s 1,287 tons of reactive organic gasses in 1983, the last year for which data is available.

The county produced 1,274 tons of carbon monoxide daily, part of the basin’s total of 6,501 tons, plus 193 tons of nitrogen oxides, part of 1,072 tons basin-wide, Eichorn said.

Orange County accounted for 17.5 tons per day of the basin’s 163 tons of sulfur oxides, Eichorn added, plus 111 tons per day of the basin’s 660 tons of particulate matter.

Six Orange County locations are listed by the air district as being among the top 20 stationary sources of either nitrogen oxide, sulfur oxide or carbon monoxide emissions in 1986.

Shell’s Huntington Beach pumping facilities are ranked 11th in the basin as a source of nitrogen oxide and 15th for carbon monoxide. The Orange County Sanitation District’s facilities in Huntington Beach ranked 19th for nitrogen oxide emissions and 15th for sulfur oxides.

West Newport Oil in Costa Mesa ranked fifth in the basin as a source of sulfur oxide pollution, and Kerr Glass of Santa Ana ranked 17th. Anaheim Foundry, manufacturer of cast iron pipe, ranked third in the basin for carbon monoxide emissions, and Disneyland ranked sixth--apparently, officials said, because of its large parking lot.

Most, if not all, of these sites are in compliance with district regulations and have the best anti-pollution equipment available, district officials said.

A list of major sources of hydrocarbon emissions is still being reviewed by the district.

While it is recognized that different areas contribute to the pollution problem, there is widespread debate over how each local jurisdiction can best reduce traffic congestion and achieve better air quality.

At workshop meetings held by the air district last month, for example, OCTC officials supported the concept of ride-sharing quotas but conditioned such support on exemptions for local programs that work as well as those adopted by the smog agency.

Some Orange County employment sites already meet or exceed the air district’s ride-sharing goals, and that’s what Oftelie believes will make it possible for a voluntary program to work. By counting already-successful private traffic-reduction programs--such as Hughes Aircraft in Fullerton and the Automobile Club processing center in Costa Mesa--it’s possible for one location’s excellent performance to offset others’ failures.

Hughes Aircraft has staggered work shifts and has established a large van-pool fleet. The Auto Club offers van poolers preferred parking spaces and a subsidy to keep vans in service even when they’re not full.

“We already have some success stories, so why not take advantage of that?” Oftelie asked.

POLLUTION PLANS

AQMD Proposal OCTC Proposal Who participates Employers with 100 Employers with 100 or more employees or more employees Peak period 6 a.m to 10 a.m. 6:30 a.m. to 9 a.m., 3:30 p.m. to 6:30 p.m. Objective Occupancy of 1.3 to Ridesharing by 30% 1.75 persons per car of company employees Time frame 1 year to meet goal Phased over 3 years Monitored Annual report, trip Annual report to reduction plan, list of OCTC incentives to AQMD Evaluation AQMD responsible OCTC responsible Cost $125 and $50 annual fee None Penalty Up to 6 months in jail or Peer review $25,000 fine per day. ‘Good faith’ efforts excepted.