EPA Approves CARB Air Quality Plan Revision
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency finalized approval of a revision to the California State Implementation Plan on July 7, in response to a request from the California Air Resources Board (CARB) to gradually reduce emissions of volatile organic compounds (VOCs) from pesticides in Ventura County.
CARB had requested that EPA revise the Ventura County portion of its California State Implementation Plan (SIP) for ozone because the state was unable to achieve by 2005 all of the pesticide VOC reductions it had committed to. CARB believes it will be able to achieve the full commitment by 2012.
"The California Air Resources Board showed EPA that even with the more gradual reduction, Ventura County will continue to meet the old 1-hour ozone standard," said Deborah Jordan, director of the Air Division in EPA's Pacific Southwest Region. "The state also showed that the change will not interfere with progress toward reaching the current 8-hour ozone standard."
The EPA will publish the final approval in the Federal Register within a few weeks. For more information, please visit: www.epa.gov/region09/air/actions/ca.html and scroll down to "Ventura".
Federal clean air laws require areas with unhealthy air develop SIPs, which describe the steps needed to achieve air quality standards. Under the Clean Air Act, EPA must take action when a state requests revisions to its approved plan.
The California State Implementation Plan is a compilation of new and previously submitted plans, state regulations and federal controls. For more information, visit http://www.arb.ca.gov/planning/sip/sip.htm.