Antonovich Named to AQMD; He Urges Industry Protection

Los Angeles County Supervisor Mike Antonovich, a conservative who has warned that air pollution cleanup should not imperil local industry, was named Tuesday as the county’s representative on the revamped South Coast Air Quality Management District board.

The AQMD board, which was reorganized and vested with new powers to battle air pollution, is expected to maintain a higher political profile as it attempts to bring the nation’s smoggiest urban area into compliance with national clean-air standards.

Antonovich and other new appointees on the 11-member panel will be watched closely by environmentalists, business interests and local officials who consider the board pivotal in the war against smog.

No Representatives

In the past, elected officials on the AQMD board were allowed to send their representatives to meetings, but that practice now is prohibited. And Antonovich made it clear that he will strive to protect local interests while considering anti-pollution measures.

“I hope to bring about a balance to the AQMD so we’re able to improve the quality of air without taking away jobs from people who work and live within the county of Los Angeles,” said Antonovich, who was appointed by Board of Supervisors Chairman Deane Dana and unanimously approved by the rest of his colleagues.

Antonovich replaces Supervisors Ed Edelman and Pete Schabarum as the county’s representative on the AQMD board. The county lost one of the seats when the board was reduced in size from 14 members to 11 and given broadened powers--including the ability to ban heavy trucks from freeways during rush hours and to impose new controls on polluting industries.

Ride-Sharing Plan

Last month, the AQMD board approved a sweeping ride-sharing program that will affect more than 8,000 employers and 1.5 million workers. And the new board is expected to consider additional proposals, including a $30.4-million clean-fuels demonstration program aimed at replacing a large percentage of gasoline-powered passenger cars and diesel-fueled trucks with vehicles that run on cleaner energy sources, such as methanol and electricity.

The costs of future air pollution controls are certain to generate protests from industry, and board members may have to face some tough political choices, including whether to add a ride-sharing lane on the Ventura Freeway or to impose controls on gasoline-powered lawn mowers.

‘Balanced Approach’

Antonovich, who will be in Washington on Friday and will miss the first meeting of the new AQMD board, said he supports some of those efforts but warned that progress cannot be made at the expense of local industry.

“As residents of this area, we have to have a balanced approach to improving the quality of air and the job opportunities of the citizens who reside here. It will benefit no one if we create high unemployment by shutting down business and, again, we benefit no one by having air that is unlivable,” Antonovich said.

With the appointment of Antonovich, all but one of those seats are now filled. Only the representative of Los Angeles County’s 84 cities is missing, and another vote is expected to take place Thursday, on the eve of the first AQMD board meeting, to fill the final seat.

Last month, four candidates--Los Angeles City Councilman Marvin Braude, Rolling Hills City Councilman Thomas F. Heinsheimer, Duarte City Councilman John Hitt and Baldwin Park Mayor Leo King--had deadlocked for that post as the representative of Los Angeles County’s municipalities.

Under terms of the reorganization, the governor, the state Senate Rules Committee and the Assembly Speaker also have one appointment to the AQMD board. In addition to Los Angeles, the counties of Orange, Riverside and San Bernardino will have representatives on the board, and another four board members will represent cities in each of those four counties.