| Aug. 6, 2004
The Southland’s air quality agency today adopted the nation’s first
regulation to reduce smog- and particulate-forming emissions from the waste
generated by more than 250,000 dairy cows, primarily concentrated in the
Chino area.
“Our region’s dairies generate more than one million tons of manure every
year. Emissions from that manure contribute to ozone and fine particulate
pollution, which must be reduced to meet federal health-based air quality
standards,” said Barry Wallerstein, executive officer of the South Coast Air
Quality Management District.
AQMD’s Rule 1127 – Emission Reductions from Livestock Waste, requires
dairies to clear manure from corrals more frequently and send the manure to
an emissions-controlled compost facility, an anaerobic digester or to
agricultural land where manure is approved for spreading as fertilizer. The
rule also contains provisions to minimize dust and meet requirements of SB
700, adopted last year by the state Legislature.
The measure will be phased in starting Dec. 1, 2004 and apply to the more
than 300 dairies in the region, which is considered to have the highest
concentration of dairy cows in the nation. Nearly 90 percent of dairies are
in the Chino-Ontario-Corona region, with the remainder in the Moreno
Valley-Lake Elsinore-Hemet area. Dairies with fewer than 50 cows would be
exempt from the rule.
The proposed rule would require dairies to:
- Starting in 2005, remove manure from corrals at least four times a
year, vs. two times a year as now required by state water quality
regulations;
- Starting in 2006, send the manure that is not used directly as
fertilizer to:
-
an anaerobic digester which produces energy
from fresh manure;
-
a composting facility complying with AQMD’s
Rule 1133.2 governing such operations; or
-
an alternative manure processing facility
such as enclosed composting bags; and
-
Take steps to minimize dust from dairy
operations.
By 2010, the measure will reduce more than 3 tons per day of ammonia
emissions and more than 1 ton per day of volatile organic compounds. That
is in addition to emission reductions resulting from the relocation of
dairies outside of the Los Angeles Basin.
The rule is expected to cost the dairy industry a total of about $3.5
million a year or about $15,000 per dairy annually. The cost compares
favorably with other air pollution regulations on a per-ton-reduced basis.
In other action today, the Board:
-
Awarded about $2.3 million in funding to
install and demonstrate hydrogen fueling stations to service a fleet of
hydrogen internal-combustion engine vehicles in the cities of Burbank,
Ontario, Riverside and Santa Ana. AQMD’s Board previously approved
funding to convert hybrid-electric 2004 Toyota Prius vehicles to
hydrogen-powered internal combustion vehicles for the demonstration
fleets;
-
Awarded more than $2.7 million in funding to
enhance the natural gas refueling infrastructure in the four-county
region. The funding will offset the costs of purchasing and installing 11
new natural gas fueling stations in the region and will assist with
upgrades to five existing stations. The new stations will be located in
Beaumont, Canoga Park, La Verne, Long Beach, Malibu, Mission Viejo, San
Fernando, Santa Clarita, Temecula, Walnut and Zuma Beach. Stations in
Bellflower, Fountain Valley, Pomona, Riverside and Santa Monica will
receive upgrades; and
-
Denied a petition for a Regulation XII
hearing on ConocoPhillips Co.’s permit application for their Los Angeles
refinery ultra-low-sulfur diesel project.
AQMD is the air pollution control agency for Orange County and major
portions of Los Angeles, San Bernardino and Riverside counties.
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