Air Board Gets Control of Program to Cut Traffic and Clean Air

The Air Pollution Control District slipped into the driver’s seat Friday to steer a state-mandated program to reduce automobile traffic and air pollution in San Diego County.

The San Diego Assn. of Governments had hoped to administer the controversial program, which aims to rid the freeways of its millions of single-occupant cars and reduce smog.

But Friday, the Sandag board of directors voted unanimously to let the air board have enforcement powers and control of the purse strings.

Under the 1988 state Clean Air Act, all regions in the state are required to file plans aimed at curtailing air pollution by next July 1. Sandag’s approval of the two-agency agreement Friday paves the way for creation of a regional clean-air program that would replace existing voluntary traffic-control measures, some of which have been in operation with little effect for more than 15 years.

Funding for the program would come from a proposed $2 increase in vehicle registration fees, now pending in the state Legislature. The air board would collect the fees for San Diego County, estimated to bring in $3 million annually. If approved, fees could be raised to $4 per vehicle registration after July 1, 1991, which would bring in $6 million countywide. The bill is before the state Senate Transportation Committee, with no hearing date scheduled.

Richard Sommerville, county air pollution control officer, said negotiations between Sandag and the air board were “lengthy and quite difficult,” but the agreement will end political maneuvering and allow the program to go ahead.

Sandag officials had sought an amendment to the proposed state bill that would have given Sandag and the air board an equal voice in distributing money to local and regional traffic-control efforts. The Sandag-sponsored amendment also would have allowed Sandag to create a new regional agency to operate and enforce the traffic-control program.

The air board opposed the Sandag amendment because it already has the powers needed to require local communities, employers and institutions to conform to new regulations, Sommerville said.

Under the agreement approved Friday by both Sandag and the air board, the air board will set guidelines for a traffic plan, but Sandag will have the task of developing the actual program. The air board will fund the Sandag planning effort and will provide funds to local traffic-control programs that meet standards.

John Duve, administrator of Sandag’s traffic plan, said air board guidelines should be received in August, “and then we can get on with developing the program.”

City and county officials had supported giving Sandag power over the plan, Sommerville said, because Sandag is mainly interested in relieving freeway congestion, while the air board is expected to take a stricter stance on clean air.