Board Delays Vote on Clean Air Plan
The state Air Resources Board, after a daylong hearing in Los Angeles, delayed a vote on whether to approve a far-reaching plan by the South Coast Air Quality Management District to bring the Los Angeles Basin into compliance with the federal Clean Air Act by the year 2007.
The plan was approved last March by the AQMD board, but it must also be approved by the state and U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. The ARB appeared poised to approve the plan, even though it acknowledged that some air pollution controls proposed may not be enforceable, which would violate the federal Clean Air Act.
At the same time, Los Angeles County Supervisor Mike Antonovich repeated earlier criticisms that the plan is too costly and would eliminate thousands of jobs. But, David Howecamp, a top western regional official of the EPA, stressed the agency’s “praise and firm support” for the plan.
The hearing is scheduled to resume today in the State Building downtown at 107 S. Broadway at 10 a.m. and a vote is expected at the hearing’s conclusion.
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