County Plan to Cut Smog Turned Down

Orange County’s proposal to meet strict federal orders to cut smog in the Southland has been rejected as not tough enough, the Southern California Air Quality Management District announced Friday.

If the county cannot rework its plan to satisfy the district, more than 1,000 area businesses employing 300,000 workers will have less than two years to launch aggressive ride-sharing programs that would get more employees into car and van pools. Violators would face fines of up to $25,000.

“I’m very, very disappointed,” said Brea City Councilwoman Clarice A. Blamer, chairman of the Orange County Transportation Commission who earlier this month submitted the county’s proposal to the air quality district. “We were very anxious to keep air quality clean but also to address the secondary problem not addressed by (AQMD)--traffic.”

The air quality district also is ordering companies in Los Angeles, Riverside and San Bernardino counties to get more workers into each car. Only Orange County had sought an exemption.

The county’s plan, based on a formula of credits, was aimed at giving employers more flexibility in meeting air standards and cutting traffic congestion. It gave points to companies for ride-sharing and flexible work scheduling and rewarded businesses for employees who have short commutes.

To help meet federal clean air standards, the AQMD’s goal is to have a regional average of 1.5 commuters per vehicle each morning, mostly through ride-sharing. Orange County currently averages 1.14 riders per car.

At stake are billions of dollars in federal highway and sewer funds for the Southland basin, which has the nation’s worst smog, AQMD officials said.

“The South Coast Air Basin faces severe sanctions for its failure to attain federal ambient air health standards . . . not only to Orange County but to all four counties in the basin,” AQMD executive director James M. Lents said in his letter Friday to Blamer about why the county’s plan was rejected.

The four counties also could face a ban on construction of large polluting projects such as steel mills and oil refineries, AQMD spokesman Tom Eichhorn said.

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and the AQMD outlined seven major objections to the county’s plan, including credits for so-called “flextime” work scheduling and for workers who commute less than five miles.

Stan Oftelie, executive director of the Transportation Commission, said he had not yet read the report but added that credits for “flextime” and short commutes were critical to the county’s plan. Other points could be resolved, he said.

Any plan the county submits again must be approved by the EPA and the state Air Resources Board before the AQMD could give its approval.