California Air Resources Board

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California Air Resources Board
Logo of the Air Resources Board
Logo of the Air Resources Board
Agency overview
Formed 1967
Preceding Agencies Bureau of Air Sanitation
 
Motor Vehicle Pollution Control Board
Headquarters 1001 I Street Sacramento, California
Annual Budget $759 million
Agency Executive Mary D. Nichols, Chairman
Parent agency California Environmental Protection Agency
Website
http://www.arb.ca.gov

The California Air Resources Board, also known as (CARB) is the "clean air agency" in the government of California. Established in 1967 in the Mulford-Carrell Act, combining the Bureau of Air Sanitation and the Motor Vehicle Pollution Control Board, the ARB is a department within the cabinet-level California Environmental Protection Agency.

The stated goals of CARB include attaining and maintaining healthy air quality; protecting the public from exposure to toxic air contaminants; and providing innovative approaches for complying with air pollution rules and regulations.

The governing board is made up of eleven members appointed by the state's governor. Half of the appointees are experts in professional and science fields such as medicine, chemistry, physics, meteorology, engineering, business, and law. Others represent the pollution control agencies of regional districts within California - Los Angeles region, San Francisco Bay area, San Diego, the San Joaquin Valley, and other districts.

Contents

[edit] CARB's Organizational Structure

CARB has nine major Divisions:[1]

  • Administrative Services Division
  • Enforcement Division
  • Mobile Source Control Division
  • Mobile Source Operations Division
  • Monitoring and Laboratory Division
  • Office of Information Services
  • Planning and Technical Support Division
  • Research Division
  • Stationary Source Division

[edit] Planning and Technical Support Division

The Planning and Technical Support Division assesses the extent of California's air quality problems and the progress being made to abate them, coordinates statewide development of clean air plans and maintains databases pertinent to air quality and emissions. The Division's technical support work provides a basis for clean air plans and CARB's regulatory programs. This support includes management and interpretation of emission inventories, air quality data, meteorological data and of air quality modeling.[2]

The Planning and Technical Support Division has five branches:

[edit] Atmospheric Modeling & Support Section

The Atmospheric Modeling & Support Section is one of three sections within the Modeling & Meteorology Branch. The other two sections are the Regional Air Quality Modeling Section and the Meteorology Section.[2]

The air quality and atmospheric pollution dispersion models[3][4] routinely used by this Section include a number of the models recommended by the U.S. EPA.[5] The Section also uses models which were either developed by CARB or whose development was funded by CARB, such as:

  • CALPUFF — Originally developed by the Sigma Research Company (SRC) under contract to CARB. Currently maintained by the TRC Solution Company under contract to the U.S. EPA.
  • CALGRID — Developed by CARB and currently maintained by CARB.[6]
  • SARMAP — Developed by CARB and currently maintained by CARB.[7]

[edit] Role in Reducing Greenhouse Gases

California Climate Change Legislation & Executive Orders includes:[8]

 This section overlaps with other sections; it should be combined with the rest of the article.
Please post any comments on this issue on the talk page.

[edit] Legislation

[edit] AB 1493

It is the successor bill to AB 1058, was enacted on July 22, 2002 by Governor Gray Davis and mandates that the California Air Resources Board (CARB) develop and implement greenhouse gas limits for vehicles beginning in model year 2009. Subsequently, as directed by AB 1493, the CARB on September 24, 2004 approved regulations limiting the amount of greenhouse gas that may be released from new passenger cars, SUVs and pickup trucks sold in California in model year 2009. The automotive industry has sued, claiming this is simply a way to impose gas mileage standards on automobiles--a field already preempted by federal rules. The case is working its way through the court system. The CARB staff's analysis has concluded that the new rules will result in savings for vehicle buyers through lower fuel expenses that will more than offset the increased initial costs of new vehicles. Critics claim that these will only work if serious reductions are made in automobile and truck sizes.

California standard uses grams per mile average CO2-equivalent value, which means that emissions of the various greenhouse gases are weighted to take into account their differing impact on climate change (i.e. maximum 323 g/mi (200 g/km) in 2009 and 205 g/mi (127 g/km) in 2016 for passenger cars).[9]

A federal district court ruled on 12 December 2007 that the state and federal laws could co-exist,[10] but on 19 December, the EPA denied California's request for the necessary waiver to implement its law, saying the local emissions had little effect on global warming, and that the conditions in California were not "compelling and extraordinary" as required by law.[11] California intends to sue the EPA to force reconsideration, given the precedent of Massachusetts v. EPA, which ruled that carbon dioxide was an air pollutant which EPA had authority to regulate.[12][13] Arizona, Colorado, Connecticut, Florida, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Utah, Vermont, and Washington are also interested in adopting California's automobile emissions standards.

[edit] AB 32

In September 2006, the California State Legislature passed AB 32, the Global Warming Solutions Act of 2006[14] with the goal of reducing man-made California greenhouse gas emissions (1.4% of global emissions in 2004[15]) back to 1990 emission levels by 2020. The legislation grants the Air Resource Board extraordinary powers to set policies, draw up regulations, lead the enforcement effort, levy fines and fees to finance it and punish violators. The technical and regulatory requirements are far reaching. Some of this sweeping regulation is being challenged in the courts.[citation needed] The law is intented to make low-carbon technology more attractive, and promote its adoption in production in California.

[edit] PHEV Research Center

Main article: PHEV Research Center

The PHEV Research Center was launched with fundings from the California Air Resources Board.

[edit] Similar law

States with similar limits are: New York, Massachusetts, Connecticut, Vermont, Rhode Island, Maine, and New Jersey.

In 2006, California governor Arnold Schwarzenegger has expressed interest in California joining the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative[16]

[edit] See also

[edit] References

  1. ^ CARB's Divisions
  2. ^ a b CARB's Planning and Technical Support Division
  3. ^ Turner, D.B. (1994). Workbook of atmospheric dispersion estimates: an introduction to dispersion modeling, 2nd Edition, CRC Press. ISBN 1-56670-023-X.  www.crcpress.com
  4. ^ Beychok, Milton R. (2005). Fundamentals of Stack Gas Dispersion, 4th Edition, author-published. ISBN 0-9644588-0-2.  www.air-dispersion.com
  5. ^ Compilation of atmospheric dispersion models
  6. ^ CALGRID Model
  7. ^ CARB's SARMAP Model
  8. ^ Documents About Climate Change and California
  9. ^ Notice, the final rulemaking package was approved by OAL and filed with the Secretary of the State on September 15, 2005 -it became operative on October 15, 2005- and Final Regulation Order that amends the California Code of Regulations.
  10. ^ http://www.foe.org/pavley/12.12.07_Pavley_Ruling.pdf
  11. ^ EPA Rejects California's Greenhouse Gas Tailpipe Law
  12. ^ Massachusetts vs. EPA, 05-1120 - full text
  13. ^ Ruling helps California battle global warming
  14. ^ Text of AB 32
  15. ^ Brown, Susan J. "California Greenhouse Gas Emissions Trends and Selected Policy Options" (Slide presentation). California Energy Commission. [1]
  16. ^ Gov. Schwarzenegger Announces Executive Order to Begin Implementation of Landmark Greenhouse Gas Legislation; Focuses on Developing Market-Based Solutions - Press Release by Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger

[edit] External links

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