State Board Acts to Reduce Smog in San Joaquin Valley

The state Air Resources Board, heeding pleas of farmers and conservationists, unanimously agreed Friday to take immediate steps toward meeting clean air goals in the smoggy San Joaquin Valley.

The panel voted to notify the eight counties in the valley to adopt proposed rules lowering the amount of pollution new industries may put into the air before being required to offset the damage by reducing other sources of contamination.

If the counties fail to act quickly, the state board will step in and adopt the standards, members said.

“We want to keep their feet to the fire, and let them know we’re serious,” said Jan Sharpless, board chairwoman.

New Evaluations

The board will ask the eight county air pollution control districts in the valley to evaluate all permits for new industries according to proposed stricter offset standards.

The counties are represented on the San Joaquin Valley Basin Control Council, which called for reducing threshold levels of nitrogen oxide--the main ingredient of smog--from 250 to 150 pounds per source per day by Jan. 1, 1990, and to zero by July 1, 1991.

Industries now can each emit up to 250 pounds a day before having to make other pollution-offset reductions.

The counties can adopt different standards, however, as long as they would achieve a negative net increase of nitrogen oxides. They also could ban new pollution sources.

Many valley cities, including Fresno, Bakersfield, Stockton, Modesto and Tulare, approach or exceed federal ozone standards of 12 parts for every 100 million parts of air.

Cause Health Problems

Ozone levels from auto exhaust and industry can cause respiratory problems and aggravate asthma and heart trouble.

The dirty air, trapped in the valley by weather conditions, reduces growth of cash crops such as cotton, seedless grapes, tomatoes, fruit and nuts that costs farmers $300 million a year in lost production, board researchers reported.

A rash of small power plants that has sprung up in the valley since 1980 are blamed for evading the offset requirements and worsening the air pollution.

Since 1980, the number of cogeneration plants has increased from one to 49. Another 65 have obtained permits but are not operating, and at least 51 more are expected to seek permits by the end of the century.

A coalition led by the city of Kingsburg and Citizens for a Healthy Environment Inc., citing massive air pollution violations, petitioned the state board to begin work immediately on establishing a basin-wide air pollution-control plan.