KEY FACTS
What Happened?
Currently a lawsuit has blocked implementation of nearly 1,100 South Coast Air Quality Management District permits for schools, fire stations, police stations, water quality plants, pollution control projects, hospitals, electricity generation, manufacturing and others. In addition, more than 2000 existing permits are potentially subject to being cancelled.
Unless the Legislature Acts, Thousands of Jobs Will Be Destroyed
Blocking these permits means lost jobs and delays in building needed projects like police stations, fire stations, hospitals, manufacturing and more. Over half of these permits impact small businesses. Altogether, thousands of facilities will be impacted that employ hardworking men and women in southern California.
The Economy Will Suffer
This problem will make southern California’s severe economic downturn even worse. Essential services, small businesses and others will have to pay up to $4 billion to obtain emission reduction credits –if they are available at all. Job losses will contribute to the downward economic spiral. It will also create hurdles for new economic stimulus projects.
The Environment Will Suffer
Unless SB 696 is passed, many upgrade projects at aging facilities will be stopped. That means many of these facilities won’t be able to replace older equipment with cleaner and more energy efficient equipment and modern pollution control equipment. Consequently, neither the air quality goals of the State Implementation Plan (SIP) nor the greenhouse gas emission reductions planned for in the AB 32 Scoping Plan can be implemented.
What Does SB 696 Do?
SB 696 is urgently needed to get southern California’s economy moving again. It reestablishes the South Coast Air Quality Management District’s (SCAQMD) credit bank and allows access to its priority reserve to continue the District’s strict permitting program that protects public health while allowing essential services and job-creating facilities to be built.
Who Supports SB 696?
SB 696 is sponsored by the South Coast Air Quality Management District which is the agency responsible for improving air quality in the region along with a growing coalition of public officials, businesses, labor, law enforcement, education and water quality officials.
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Questions and Answers about SB 696
Q: What is SB 696?
A: It is critically needed emergency legislation that will allow the issuance of required permits from the South Coast Air Quality Management District (SCAQMD) for the construction of fire stations, police stations, hospital power generators, electricity generators and other projects that are essential public services. Without it, almost 1,100 of these projects will be on indefinite hold, with potentially over 2,000 existing permits in further jeopardy.
Q: Why can’t these projects get permits now?
A: A lawsuit has blocked issuance of emissions credits for these essential projects from a special SCAQMD credit bank. Without the special bank, the small businesses, public agencies and others involved could be forced to spend up to $4 billion for pollution credits – if they are available at all.
Q: Why do they need permits in the first place?
A: Southern California’s strict air quality rules require that any business or facility adding new equipment must prove they have reduced through other activities the amount of air pollution the new equipment would emit. The SCAQMD kept a special bank of pollution reduction credits from district-monitored facilities that were then issued to these essential projects so they could move forward.
Q: So what will happen?
A: Almost 1,100 projects are on indefinite hold in the SCAQMD’s four-county area and another 2,000 existing permits are potentially subject to cancellation. The situation is bad for the environment and especially troubling in these tough economic times.
Q: Why bad for the economy?
A: No permits mean lost jobs and delays in building needed projects like police stations, fire stations, hospitals, manufacturing plants and more. More than half the permits impact small businesses. Altogether, thousands of facilities will be impacted that employ hardworking men and women in Southern California.
Q: Isn’t this kind of get –tough policy good for the environment?
A: No, just the reverse. Many of these projects that can’t get permits involve installation of more modern, cleaner equipment that will mean a tremendous net drop in harmful emissions. So the impact of this lawsuit could be slower environmental clean-up, a blow to cleaning up air pollution and even setting back efforts to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.
Q: How does SB 696 impact all of this?
A: SB 696 is urgently needed to get Southern California’s economy moving again. It re-establishes the SCAQMD’s credit bank and allows access to its priority reserve to continue the district’s strict permitting program that protects public health while allowing essential services and job-creating facilities to be built.
Q: Who’s behind SB 696?
A: SB 696 is sponsored by the South Coast Air Quality Management District which feels it is critical to meeting their responsibility for improving air quality in the region. The measure is supported by a growing coalition of public officials, business, labor, law enforcement, education and water quality officials throughout Los Angeles, Orange, Riverside and San Bernardino Counties.
Q: What can I do to help?
A: SB 696 is emergency legislation that requires a two-thirds vote in both the Assembly and the Senate. You should email or call your Assembly representative and Senator to let them know you support SB 696 to improve Southern California’s environment and help get our economy moving again.
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