IRVINE : 65 Firms Ask to Use Banned Chemicals

After receiving requests from about 65 companies for temporary exemptions from the city’s ban on most uses of an ozone-depleting chemical, the Irvine City Council will consider turning the exemption process over to the city manager.

All requests for exemptions to the ban on chlorofluorocarbons now must be approved by the City Council.

The city’s law on chlorofluorocarbons and other ozone-depleting substances went into effect July 1. The council has voted twice, including this week, to grant 55 temporary exemptions to companies that use small amounts of the chemicals, military contractors, firms with no feasible alternatives and companies using the chemicals for health-related products.

“It’s certainly been less controversial than expected, and City Council approval so far has been routine,” said Michael S. Brown, Irvine’s environmental program administrator.

At the council’s July 24 meeting, Brown will recommend the exemption process be run administratively by the city manager to avoid bogging down the City Council with routine paper work.

If approved, the change would require that requests for exemptions be advertised so the public can have a chance to comment on them before a decision is made, Brown said. The council also will retain the right to take back its approval authority at any time.

Under the ban, companies can apply for exemptions lasting one or more years. But firms must show that they are looking for alternatives or are in the process of phasing out the chemicals, Brown said.