Petition to EPA to Require Revision of California SIP Provisions related to Fee Programs

The People’s Collective for Environmental Justice, Communities for Better Environment, East Yard Communities for Environmental Justice, and Sierra Club argue that the South Coast Air Quality Management District (SCAQMD) has violated the Clean Air Act (CAA) by failing to penalize major stationary sources for ozone precursor emissions. The petitioners claim that Rule 317, intended as an alternative fee program for the 1979 one-hour ozone standard, is a "paper exercise" that allows polluters to avoid fees through unrelated credits. Furthermore, they assert that SCAQMD has completely failed to adopt required fee programs for the 1997 and 2008 eight-hour ozone standards. The document emphasizes that these failures disproportionately harm low-income communities and communities of color in the South Coast Air Basin, which is described as having the worst ozone pollution in the United States.

• The South Coast Air Quality Management District (SCAQMD) has failed to implement mandated fee programs for the 1997 and 2008 eight-hour ozone standards, despite deadlines of June 15, 2014, and July 20, 2022, respectively.
• Rule 317, the alternative fee program for the 1979 one-hour ozone standard, is criticized as an ineffective system that allows major polluters to avoid paying fees by taking credit for programs that do not necessarily reduce ozone precursors.
• SCAQMD has consistently failed to meet its annual reporting obligations under Rule 317, often only releasing reconciliation reports after public records requests or civil rights complaints.
• Major stationary sources of NOx and VOCs in the South Coast region are disproportionately located near disadvantaged populations; nearly 75% are adjacent to communities where over 50% of residents are people of color.
• The South Coast Air Basin is identified as having the most severe ozone pollution in the U.S., with the Los Angeles region ranked as the worst in the nation for ozone pollution in 2023.
• The California Air Resources Board (CARB) is accused of failing its duty to ensure the SIP complies with the Clean Air Act by not notifying SCAQMD of deficiencies or requiring the adoption of necessary fee rules.

APA

Earthjustice (2023). Petition to EPA to Require Revision of California SIP Provisions related to Fee Programs. https://earthjustice.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/08/2023-0815-petition-to-epa-to-require-revision-of-ca-sip-provisions-re-fee-programs.pdf

Chicago

Earthjustice. Petition to EPA to Require Revision of California SIP Provisions related to Fee Programs. 2023. https://earthjustice.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/08/2023-0815-petition-to-epa-to-require-revision-of-ca-sip-provisions-re-fee-programs.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite press release |author=Earthjustice |title=Petition to EPA to Require Revision of California SIP Provisions related to Fee Programs |date=15 August 2023 |url=https://earthjustice.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/08/2023-0815-petition-to-epa-to-require-revision-of-ca-sip-provisions-re-fee-programs.pdf |access-date=23 October 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@misc{earthjustice2023petition, author = {{Earthjustice}}, title = {{Petition to EPA to Require Revision of California SIP Provisions related to Fee Programs}}, publisher = {Earthjustice}, year = {2023}, month = aug, url = {https://earthjustice.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/08/2023-0815-petition-to-epa-to-require-revision-of-ca-sip-provisions-re-fee-programs.pdf}, urldate = {2026-10-23}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }