Oakland Native Serves in Navys Silent Service of Submarine Technology – Post News Group

California Attorney General Rob Bonta and the California Air Resources Board (CARB) filed a motion on Wednesday to intervene in support of South Coast Air Quality Management Districts (Air District) rule requiring warehouses to reduce emissions fromheavy sources of on-road pollution that visit those warehouses.

The Air Districts rule regulates these indirect sources by requiring owners and operators of some of the largest warehouses in the state to take direct action to mitigate their emissions. This will reduce air pollution in Los Angeles and the Inland Empire, help California meet state and federal air quality standards, improve the health of our communities, and promote environmental justice.

Last month, the California Trucking Association filed a lawsuit challenging the rule as outside the scope of the Air Districts authority,pre-empted by federal law, and an unlawful tax.In defending the rule, Attorney General Bonta and CARB expect to argue that these claims are meritless and thatstate and federal law supports the Air Districts authority to adopt the Indirect Source Rule.

California has long been a pioneer in the fight againstclimate change and the Air Districtsrule limiting warehouse pollution is no exception,said Bonta.The fact is: environmental justice and economic development are not mutually exclusive. There is no binary choice here. The Air DistrictsIndirect Source Rule will have tremendous benefits for those communities hardest hit by pollution, at a relatively low cost to industry.

This is an environmental justice and public health issue,said CARB Chair Liane M. Randolph.The communities around these huge warehouse facilities have suffered for years from the effects of businesses and freight haulers who have all but ignored the community impacts of their enterprises. This Indirect Source Rule simply requires them to be much better neighbors. The rule is also part and parcel of local clean air plans developed under Assembly Bill 617 with CARB and South Coast staff, local residents, local businesses and other stakeholders to clean the air in and around these high-traffic routes and locations.

In recent years, the proliferation of e-commerce and rising consumer expectations of rapid shipping have contributed to a boom in warehouse development, particularly in Los Angeles and the Inland Empire.

The COVID-19 pandemic has accelerated this trend, as consumers have shifted away from in-person retail shopping. Unfortunately, the distribution of warehouse facilities and resulting pollution has occurred primarily in low-income communities and communities of color.

Once a new warehouse is built, the facilities and their associatedactivities, such as truck traffic,can cause a variety of negative impacts affecting public health. For example, diesel trucks visiting warehouses are substantial sources of nitrogen oxide a primary precursor to smog formation that has been linked to respiratory problems like asthma, bronchitis, and lung irritation and diesel particulate matter a contributor to cancer, heart disease, respiratory illnesses, and premature death.

The Air Districts Indirect Source Rule requires existing and new warehouse facilities larger than 100,000 square feet to select from a menu of emissions-reducing activities, such as purchasing zero-emission vehicles, installingair filtration systems in nearby residences, and constructing rooftop solar panels.

A copy of the motion is availablehere.

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Oakland Native Serves in Navys Silent Service of Submarine Technology - Post News Group