a035  0235  18 Mar 89
PM-Smog Cleanup,0480
Battle Looms Over Plan To Clean Up LA Smog
By BRUCE V. BIGELOW
Associated Press Writer
    CARSON, Calif. (AP) - A plan to clean up the worst air in the
country by restricting everything from industry smokestacks to
household aerosols has set the stage for a political battle royal in
Southern California.
    The plan, approved Friday by two regional authorities, is intended
to bring air quality in the four-county Los Angeles basin up to
federal clean air standards by 2007.
    The debate over the plan is being followed by smoggy cities across
the country, as well as Congress, which is preparing to renew the
Clean Air Act.
    By 1994, Southern California officials plan to have phased in 120
rules in a detailed attack against pollutants arising from nearly
every type of combustion - from patio barbecues to coal-fired power
plants.
    Eventually, the plan will require Southern Californians to drive
cars powered by methanol, compressed gas or electricity; mow their
lawns with electric lawnmowers and use reformulated paints, solvents
and aerosols.
    ''The magnitude of the planning effort is without parallel anywhere
in the country for a region of this size,'' said Mark Pisano,
executive director of the Southern California Association of
Governments.
    The air quality plan was adopted by the association on a 16-1 vote,
and by the South Coast Air Quality Management District board of
directors by a 10-2 vote.
    The votes capped a contentious, eight-hour session that drew
hundreds of people from environmental and citizens' groups, industry
and government.
    Los Angeles County Supervisor Michael Antonovich, who sits as a
member of both boards, vowed to seek a referendum, which he contended
would stifle economic growth.
    Union leaders also opposed tight restrictions on industrial
pollutants, which they said could close factories and cost of
thousands of jobs.
    ''They're talking about doing without gasoline,'' said an indignant
Jack Foley, west coast director of the Oil, Chemical & Atomic Workers
International Union.
    An industry study by National Economic Research Associates, Inc.
concluded the plan would cost $12.8 billion a year, a figure that
contrasts sharply with the district's estimate of $3.9 billion
annually.
    Altogether, the plan proposes 160 rules to be enforced over the next
18 years, reaching into unexpected corners of everyday life to attack
smog sources both large and small:
    -The suburban backyard scene would change forever with bans on
charcoal lighter fluid for barbecues and requirements that lawn
mowers and other tools run on either electricity or fuel that burns
more cleanly than gasoline.
    -The number of drive-through burger stands might be limited to cut
down on smog-generating engine idling while motorists wait for their
orders.
    -State-required checks of auto pollution-control equipment would be
more stringent, and new emission limits would be imposed on diesel
trucks and buses.
    The plan would cover a district of 13,350 square miles, covering Los
Angeles, Orange, Riverside and part of San Bernardino counties.
    
 
AP-NY-03-18-89 0519EST
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