A.V. AIR QUALITY DISTRICT HONORS LAWMAKER WHO CREATED IT.

Byline: Charles F. Bostwick Staff Writer

LANCASTER - The late state Sen. W.J. ``Pete'' Knight was honored posthumously by Antelope Valley Air Quality Management District officials for authoring the legislation eight years ago that created the district.

Described as ``the father of the AVAQMD,'' Knight was presented with the district's Achievement in Reducing Emissions Award, which was accepted by his widow, Gail, at a low-key ceremony at the air district office.

``Pete loved working with everybody and doing what was good for the Antelope Valley,'' Gail Knight said.

The district's AIRE awards go to individuals, businesses, government agencies and organizations that go ``above and beyond'' what is required of them to protect the Antelope Valley's air quality, said Bret Banks, the air district's operations manager.

At Tuesday's ceremony, the district also presented AIRE awards to the Sanitation Districts of Los Angeles County, which operates the Lancaster and Palmdale sewage treatment plants, and to Lancaster auto dealer H.W. Hunter Inc., both of which are using alternative energy sources.

The sewage treatment plants installed electricity generators fueled by waste gas given off from the sewage. The auto dealer installed photovoltaic panels that generate electricity from sunlight.

Palmdale Mayor Jim Ledford, the air board's chairman, says the district plans to rename the award for Knight.

Knight, a retired Air Force pilot and former Palmdale mayor, authored the bill creating the air district as a state assemblyman in 1997.

The legislation split the Antelope Valley off from the South Coast Air Quality Management District that covers the rest of Los Angeles County and created the Antelope Valley Air Pollution Control District.

In 2000, after he was elected to the state senate, Knight introduced legislation expanding the agency's autonomy by reclassifying it as an air quality management district. The bill stalled, but Assemblyman George Runner, R-Lancaster, got it passed the next year.

The air district gave the Antelope Valley control over its own air quality, which is important for protecting the ability of Edwards Air Force Base to conduct its flight test missions, Banks said. In addition, when the valley was part of the SCAQMD, local people had to drive more than 70 miles to do business at its headquarters.

In June, H.W. Hunter installed a $1.8 million array of photovoltaic panels that produce electricity with solar power and also act as a sun shade for cars parked in the service area.

On summer afternoons, when electricity fees are highest, the panels produce more electricity than the dealership uses, with the excess sold back to Southern California Edison, Hunter President Tim Fuller said. Edison paid for half the cost of the system.

The dealership hasn't seen yet how the solar energy will work in winter, but over the summer, it cut bills from about $10,000 a month to about $2,000. The device is expected to pay for itself in less than eight years, Fuller said.

``We are giving (electricity) to the electrical grid when it is expensive and buying it when it is less expensive,'' Fuller said.

The sanitation districts installed a fuel cell at the Palmdale sewage plant and a microturbine at the Lancaster plant. Waste gases emitted from the treated sewage run the devices, which then create electricity to help run the plants.

The fuel cell cost about $1.9 million, half of it funded through a grant from the California Public Utilities Commission. The microturbine cost $720,000, about 40 percent of it from the state commission.

The devices generate about one-quarter of the electricity used at the Lancaster plant, and about one-third the electricity used at the Palmdale plant. Sanitation district officials expect to recoup their costs in about 10 years.

CAPTION(S):

photo

Photo:

(color) Gail Knight, widow of state Sen. W.J. ``Pete'' Knight, accepts his award from Lancaster Mayor Frank Roberts, left, and Vice Mayor Henry Hearns.

Jeff Goldwater/Staff Photographer