Edison Must Cut Ventura County Emissions 88%

County supervisors adopted the toughest air pollution control regulation on power plants in the nation Tuesday, capping a long-running battle between the county and Southern California Edison.

Approval of the measure, which requires the utility to reduce emissions that contribute to smog by at least 88% over the next five years, was unanimous. Known as Rule 59, it is tougher than any existing power plant regulation on the books nationwide, said Bill Sylte, chief deputy executive officer of the state Air Resources Board.

The South Coast Air Quality Management District’s regulation, which covers Los Angeles, Orange, San Bernardino and Riverside counties, requires a reduction in emissions of about 75%, although district officials propose to amend it to bring reductions up to 85%.

“The Ventura County regulation shows what can be done in pollution control not only to the rest of the state, but to the rest of the country,” said Sylte, who spoke at Tuesday’s board hearing. The ARB must approve regulations before they become enforceable.

Edison officials said they would abide by the board’s decision.

“Now we start work on a compliance plan,” said Mike Hertel, Edison’s manager of environmental affairs. “We just want to get the job done.”

Environmentalists had argued for an even tougher regulation but were pleased with the board’s approval.

“It’s been a long time in coming,” said Marc Chytilo, an attorney with the Environmental Defense Center in Santa Barbara.

Chytilo and others had pressed for a provision to prohibit Edison from burning fuel oil to generate electricity, which would have required the utility to rely completely on natural gas.

Supervisors opted to allow Edison to burn fuel oil during winter months when smog levels are low.

Under Rule 59, Edison must reduce the nitrogen oxide emissions that escape from smokestacks at its two plants in Oxnard from an average of 3,083 tons per year to 370 tons per year by 1996.

Oxides of nitrogen are a byproduct of power generation that occurs when gas or fuel oil is burned at high temperature. The fire heats Edison’s four boilers, all in Oxnard.

To make the reductions, Edison will have to install technology called selective catalytic reduction, which works like a catalytic converter in a car. The equipment will cost about $210 million, according to Edison officials.

County officials estimate that will add an average of 30 cents a month to electricity bills for Edison’s 4 million residential users in Southern California.