Air quality officials unveil plan to reduce smog statewide

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Air quality officials unveil plan to reduce smog statewide

Friday, March 15, 2002

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(03-15) 02:29 PST LOS ANGELES (AP) --

State air quality officials released a new plan that hopes to bring cleaner

skies over California by 2020.

The comprehensive plan unveiled Thursday by the state's Air Resources Board

will target smaller polluters and provides incentives for people to plant

trees that produce low amounts of pollen. The plan must still be approved by

state legislators next month and cannot be legally enforced. However, it is

meant to give officials options to reduce smog.

" This is something we haven't done in the past. We wanted to take a look at

air quality for the state as a whole and what we have to do to have healthy

air for everyone, " said Kenny, executive officer for the Air

Resources Board. " We're looking at a larger number of sources so we can

achieve a greater number of reductions from more places. "

Some of those sources are fumes from cow manure and exhaust from farm

machinery and dirt bikes.

The plan also identifies strategies to reduce pollution in low-income and

minority communities, reduce greenhouse gases linked to global warming and

trim releases of toxic air emissions.

If the plan is approved, it could cost up to $2.3 billion over the next few

years. But the benefits outweigh the cost said air health officials, noting

that areas such as the Bay Area and the San Joaquin Valley have seen air

quality worsen.

Air quality officials said the plan could eliminate about 500 tons of

smog-forming pollutants and 50 tons of soot and smoke on a daily basis by

2010.

An estimated 25 million vehicles and thousands of businesses statewide

release about 14 million pounds of pollutants into the air every day.

The state's smoggiest regions must pursue tough measures to meet a target in

the federal Clean Air Act of healthy air year-round by 2005 in the San

Joaquin Valley and by 2010 in all parts of the Los Angeles basin