On behalf of Tulare County Supervisorial Districts one and five, we are writing to respectfully oppose AB 2550 (Arambula).
State law already provides the California Air Resources Board (CARB) significant authority to oversee air district activities related to air quality management, and there is a collaborative relationship in place with our local air district. In light of this fact, AB 2550 seems unnecessary.
The CARB and the San Joaquin Valley Air Pollution Control District have a successful history of working together to develop and implement plans to bring our area into compliance with state and federal air quality standards, along with addressing public health challenges exacerbated by the air quality. These established, and successful, collaborations will be disrupted by AB 2550.
Tulare County, and the larger San Joaquin Valley, has significant air quality challenges and unique air quality needs due to the topography, climate, and geography of our landscape, including our major transportation corridor, the SR 99. Due to the unfinished widening status of the SR 99, there is a high rate of mobile source emissions from idling - this bill does not provide any additional tools to address those mobile source emissions. CARB's is already the primary regulatory authority for mobile sources of emissions, and they develop strategies to reduce mobile source emissions that are included in regional air quality plans.
AB 2550 would transfer local responsibility to regulate stationary sources of air pollution to the state, impeding the ability to consider our county's unique air quality needs, and eroding existing and successful partnerships. For these reasons, we must respectfully oppose AB 2550.
Sincerely,
Larry Micari, Supervisor
District 1
Dennis Townsend, Supervisor
District 5
cc: Assembly Member Rivas, Paul Yoder, Shaw Yoder Antwih Schmelzer & Lange