Charcoal Lighter Fluid Curbs Upheld by Court

Lighter fluid restrictions that the air quality district put on back yard barbecues in Southern California are legal even if the data they were based on is incorrect, a judge ruled Wednesday.

Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Ronald Sohigian’s ruling means the South Coast Air Quality Management District can proceed with plans to limit the pollutants produced by lighter fluids, starting next Jan. 1. The Barbecue Industry Assn. had asked him to throw out the regulation due to the faulty data that the AQMD now rejects.

When the AQMD board voted in October to outlaw any lighter fluid that emits more than .02 pounds of pollutants per use, the district’s data showed an industry average of .092. The BIA had contended that later AQMD reports showed the true figure was .035.

The AQMD “did not abuse its discretion,” Sohigian wrote in his opinion. “It proceeded in the manner required by law, and did not act arbitrarily or capriciously.”