Article 1. General Provisions of California Health And Safety Code >> Division 26. >> Part 3. >> Chapter 5.5. >> Article 1.

This chapter shall be known and may be cited as the "Lewis-Presley Air Quality Management Act."

The Legislature finds and declares all of the following:
  (a) That the South Coast Air Basin is a geographical entity not reflected by political boundaries.
  (b) That the basin is acknowledged to have critical air pollution problems caused by the operation of millions of motor vehicles in the basin, stationary sources of pollution, frequent atmospheric inversions that trap aerial contaminants, and the large amount of sunshine that transforms vehicular and nonvehicular emissions into a variety of deleterious chemicals.
  (c) That these critical air pollution problems are most acute in the foothill communities of the San Gabriel/Pomona Valleys and the Riverside/San Bernardino areas, where pollutants which originate in other parts of the basin are trapped by geographical and meteorological conditions characteristic of these areas.
  (d) That the state and federal governments have promulgated ambient air quality standards for the protection of public health, and it is in the public interest that those standards not be exceeded.
  (e) That, in order to achieve and maintain air quality within the ambient air quality standards, a comprehensive basinwide air quality management plan must be developed and implemented to provide for the rapid abatement of existing emission levels to levels which will result in the achievement and maintenance of the state and federal ambient air quality standards and to ensure that new sources of emissions are planned and operated so as to be consistent with the basin's air quality goals.
  (f) That, in recognition of the fact that some regions within the basin face more critical air pollution problems than others, it is necessary for the basinwide air quality management plan to consider the specific air pollution problems of regions within the air basin in planning for facilities which create new sources of emissions.
  (g) That, in order to successfully develop and implement a meaningful strategy for achieving and maintaining ambient air quality standards, local governments in the South Coast Air Basin must be delegated additional authority from the state in the control of vehicular sources and must retain existing authority to set stringent emission standards for nonvehicular sources.
  (h) That, in order to successfully implement a comprehensive program for the achievement and maintenance of state and federal ambient air quality standards in the South Coast Air Basin, the responsibilities of local and regional authorities with respect to air pollution control and air quality management plan adoption must be fully integrated into an agency with basinwide authority, largely to be governed by representatives of county and city governments.

The Legislature further finds and declares that the south coast district shall take a leadership role to sponsor, coordinate, and promote projects which increase the use of clean-burning fuels in the transportation and stationary source sectors, and that it is the intent of the Legislature that the district establish voluntary programs to accelerate the utilization of clean-burning fuels within the South Coast Air Basin.

The Legislature further finds and declares that the south coast district, in fulfilling its directive to require the use of best available control technology for new sources, and in consideration of the state policy to promote and encourage the use of solar energy systems, shall make reasonable efforts to incorporate solar energy technology into its air quality management plan in applications where it can be shown to be cost-effective.

(a) As used in this chapter, "best available control technology" means an emission limitation that will achieve the lowest achievable emission rate for the source to which it is applied. Subject to subdivision (b), "lowest achievable emission rate," as used in this section, means the more stringent of the following:
  (1) The most stringent emission limitation that is contained in the state implementation plan for the particular class or category of source, unless the owner or operator of the source demonstrates that the limitation is not achievable.
  (2) The most stringent emission limitation that is achieved in practice by that class or category or source.
  (b) "Lowest achievable emission rate" shall not be construed to authorize the permitting of a proposed new source or a modified source that will emit any pollutant in excess of the amount allowable under the applicable new source standards of performance.

As used in this chapter, "best available retrofit control technology" means an emission limitation that is based on the maximum degree of reduction achievable, taking into account environmental, energy, and economic impacts by each class or category of source.

As used in this chapter, "electric plant" means an electric plant as defined in Section 217 of the Public Utilities Code, whether publicly or privately owned or operated.

As used in this chapter, "electronic or computer data storage" means paperless record retention utilizing optical, electronic, magnetic, micrographic, or photographic media or other similar technology capable of accurately producing or reproducing data in accordance with minimum standards or guidelines for the preservation and reproduction of the medium adopted by the American National Standards Institute or the Association for Information and Image Management.

As used in this chapter, "plan" means the south coast district air quality management plan.