| Jan. 23, 2007 Southland
air quality officials filed a lawsuit today asking a state appeals court to
overturn a decision by the state Public Utilities Commission in order to
prevent a potentially significant increase in air pollution from imported
“hot” natural gas.
“At a time when we are searching for every possible means to further
reduce air pollution, we cannot afford a setback that will significantly
increase emissions and subject residents to worsened air quality,” said
Barry Wallerstein, executive officer of the South Coast Air Quality
Management District.
“We are asking the court to protect public health by correcting a poor
decision made by the Public Utilities Commission.”
The lawsuit asks the court to overturn a September 2006 decision by the
PUC allowing the importation of “hot gas;” to compel the PUC to analyze the
environmental impacts of using such gas as required by the California
Environmental Quality Act; and to mitigate the air quality impacts of hot
gas. The case (#B196246) was filed in the state Court of Appeal’s Second
District in Los Angeles.
Hot gas refers to liquefied natural gas with an inherently different
chemical composition and higher heating content than natural gas currently
used in Southern California.
In the wake of growing natural gas demand in the United States, several
energy companies have proposed importing massive amounts of liquefied
natural gas from overseas. The firms have proposed to build a total of six
import terminals along the coast of California and Baja, Mexico where the
super-cooled liquefied natural gas would be heated and converted back to a
gaseous state. LNG imports could potentially replace all of the natural gas
currently used in Southern California.
Preliminary tests have shown that certain equipment burning “hot gas” can
nearly double emissions of nitrogen oxides, a key cause of ozone and fine
particulate pollution. Consumer groups and equipment manufacturers also
have raised concerns about potential fire, safety and equipment durability
concerns when hot gas is used.
Today’s action is the latest in AQMD’s long-running effort to urge state
and federal officials to prevent potential deterioration of natural gas
quality in the state.
“California has the cleanest gasoline in the nation to help us fight the
worst air pollution in the country,” Wallerstein said. “Why shouldn’t we
maintain the cleanest natural gas standards as well?”
For decades, AQMD has required the use of natural gas in a wide range of
combustion equipment from home hot water heaters to oil refinery boilers
because it is inherently cleaner than other fuels. Thanks to AQMD
regulations and incentives, thousands of transit buses, school buses, trash
trucks, street sweepers and other vehicles in the region now run on natural
gas, which typically has lower smog-forming and toxic emissions than diesel.
On Sep. 21, the Public Utilities Commission adopted a major decision
affecting the state’s natural gas industry, including the setting of a
maximum Wobbe Index of 1385 for natural gas in California. The PUC rejected
a recommendation by its own administrative law judge that environmental
impacts of the decision should be analyzed under the California
Environmental Quality Act.
The Wobbe Index is a technical specification that refers to the heating
value of a fuel gas; the higher the number, the higher the heating value.
Natural gas currently supplied in the state has an average Wobbe Index of
1332. AQMD had urged the commission to adopt a limit of 1360. AQMD also
called for expedited research into the air quality impacts associated with
burning a higher Wobbe Index gas and the cost effectiveness of lowering the
heating value of imported gas before a natural gas standard was adopted.
Had the commission adopted AQMD’s recommended Wobbe Index limit of 1360,
hot gas still could be imported from overseas as long as it was treated to
meet the standard before being shipped to customers. The heating content of
hot gas can be reduced either by removal of the higher heating value
components of the gas, or by adding an inert gas such as nitrogen to it at
the import terminal.
The addition of inert gas to limit the heating content of natural gas is
already being used at the Dominion Cove Point LNG terminal near Baltimore.
Representatives of the five proposed LNG import terminals in California have
committed to not distribute hot gas in the state.
The Shell LNG terminal under construction in Baja, Mexico is the only
facility that has not made such a commitment.
“The PUC’s decision has created an unfair advantage for the Shell Baja
facility at the expense of other companies that have committed to do the
right thing for the environment,” Wallerstein said.
Although the Southland has experienced significant air quality
improvements over the last 20 years, the area still has the worst ozone and
particulate matter pollution in the nation. AQMD’s draft 2007 Air Quality
Management Plan calls for a 36 percent further reduction of nitrogen oxide
emissions by 2014 to meet the federal PM2.5 standard.
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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