On August 5, AQMD was
awarded a
$45.4 million grant from the Department of Energy American Recovery and
Reinvestment Act designed to accelerate the development of
U.S.-manufactured next-generation batteries and electric
vehicles.
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SB 696 provides a clear path to lift permit moratorium in
the South Coast
On July 24, a recent federal court ruling cleared the way
for proposed SB 696, authored by State Senator Rod Wright,
to immediately lift a permit moratorium for air permits in
Southern California. That moratorium has blocked over 1,200
permits for planned projects representing more than $5
billion of lost investment and tens of thousands of jobs.
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(PDF, 74.31KB)
School Districts Receive Millions to Replace
Dirty Diesel School Buses
On July 10, AQMD
awarded nearly $43 million to help school districts in the
Southland purchase clean-burning compressed natural gas and
propane buses to replace the dirtiest diesel school buses in
their fleets.
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500 Additional Ultra-Low Emission Trucks to Join Port Fleet
AQMD will administer a $74 million grant that will help the
Ports of Long Beach and Los Angeles purchase over 500
natural gas trucks. This new grant initiative follows a
successful program in 2008 that added more than 2,200 trucks
that currently meet or exceed 2007 U.S. EPA emission
standards.
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INFORMATION
AQMD Investigation Finds No Significant Air Toxic Risk
from
Santa Fe Springs Metal Facility
AQMD collected air
samples at Heraeus Metal Processing Inc. in Santa Fe Springs
to test for the presence of hydrazine, a toxic chemical,
after an EPA report showed high air pollution risk levels in
nearby Cerritos. Results from air samples show that the
company does not pose a significant cancer risk to the
surrounding community.
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INFORMATION
Results of
AQMD Investigation
Chairman Burke Reappointed to AQMD Board
AQMD Governing Board Chairman William A. Burke, Ed.D., has
been reappointed to another four-year term on the AQMD Board
by state Speaker of the Assembly Karen Bass. Burke, a
prominent Los Angeles business leader, with a long history
of public service, has served on the AQMD Board since 1993.
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AQMD Announces Grants for Tree
Planting Projects
On June 5, AQMD established the Tree Planting Partnership -- a
match funding opportunity for cities and counties within AQMD's four-county
jurisdiction. A total of $1.5 million will be available to co-sponsor
additional tree planting projects.
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Agency Offering Information on Federal Stimulus Funding Opportunities
To
get more information about the stimulus package and how our region can
maximize opportunities to get its fair share of funds, call (909) 396-3333
or email recovery@aqmd.gov.
Archived copies of
presentations from AQMD’s workshop on the stimulus package are also
available.
AQMD Staff to Enhance Odor Identification Capabilities
On May 1, AQMD’s Governing Board approved a contract with a UCLA team of
olfactory experts for a pilot program expected to improve the agency’s
ability to identify odor sources and potential mitigating factors in
resolving odor complaints.
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First Natural Gas-Powered Concrete Truck to be Used for Local Construction
The AQMD Governing Board approved funds to demonstrate a prototype natural
gas-powered concrete mixer truck to help reduce emissions from the
construction sector, a major source of smog-forming and toxic diesel
emissions. Heavy-duty trucks are among the largest contributors of
smog-forming pollutants in the South Coast Air Basin.
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AQMD Strengthens Rule to Further Reduce
Particulate Matter Emissions from Area Cement Plants
AQMD's Governing Board has amended Rule 1156, which will further reduce
particulate matter emissions as well as the toxic chemical hexavalent
chromium from cement manufacturing facilities. The new regulation
stems from the AQMD's discovery of elevated levels of hexavalent chromium in
dust blowing from a regional cement plant.
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Agency first in the nation to adopt a rule to reduce volatile organic
compound (VOC) emissions from consumer paint thinners
AQMD's Board has adopted a regulation to reduce smog-forming pollution in
paint thinners used by consumers. In less than two years, Rule 1143
will have reduced VOC pollution by 9.75 tons per day - equal to shutting
down all major oil refineries in LA County.
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Agency and states win victory over weak soot health standards
AQMD,
along with 17 states and cities, has won a major legal victory over lax Bush
Administration standards for fine soot pollution that failed to protect
public health.
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A Clean Air Technology Networking Conference will lend a “Helping Hand”
to stakeholders
The AQMD’s Governing Board is hoping to give the local economy a break. As
part of the newly-approved “Helping Hand” initiative, originally proposed by
Chairman William Burke, the agency will introduce investment bankers and
venture capitalists to clean air technology developers in order to expedite
the introduction of low-emission technologies.
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