ANTELOPE VALLEY PANEL COULD CUT AIR POLLUTION RULE.

Byline: Jim Skeen Daily News Staff Writer

Antelope Valley's new air quality district is looking to dump a requirement that large employers create car-pool plans for their workers, saying the paperwork is overly burdensome.

The Antelope Valley Air Pollution Control District is looking to scrap a mandatory ride-share program for employers with more than 250 workers that was among South Coast Air Quality Management District regulations the district adopted at its creation in July.

``All existing rules are AQMD rules,'' said Antelope Valley control district spokeswoman Violette Roberts. ``One of the first things the new district is doing is going through the rule book, rule by rule, and see what is applicable to the Antelope Valley. This was identified as one of the rules that didn't have a lot of relevance to the Antelope Valley.''

Ride-share, or trip-reduction, plans were required by a 1987 federal law for businesses in areas with poor air quality. The federal law was changed in 1995 to drop mandatory trip-reduction programs, but the AQMD adopted a rule requiring such plans for large employers.

Antelope Valley officials said the rule places an onerous record-keeping requirement on businesses. Officials expect that most of the large employers will continue with voluntary ride-share programs.

``Trip reduction is the most frequently mentioned issue I've gotten,'' said Vern Lawson Jr., executive director of the Lancaster Economic Development Corp. and one of the control district board members. ``They (employers) are willing to support ride-share programs, but they have concerns about the mandatory nature of the rule.''

The new district also wants to examine the regulations applied to new or relocating businesses. The existing regulation - also adopted from the South Coast AQMD, of which the Antelope Valley was a part until this year - states the air district must deny construction permits in areas deemed to have poor air quality if a new business would increase air emissions.

Exemptions are granted if the company uses the ``best available'' pollution control measures or if the business can receive emission reduction credits.

Exactly how the regulation will be restructured hasn't been determined, officials said.

The new district was formed after a six-year effort by Antelope Valley civic leaders to split away from the AQMD. For years, Antelope Valley business and government leaders have complained about being lumped in with the Los Angeles Basin, which has poorer air quality.

The Antelope Valley, which has peak ozone levels of 14 to 16 parts per 100 million, is separated from Los Angeles by the San Gabriel Mountains. Peak ozone levels in the Los Angeles Basin range from 26 to 28 parts per 100 million.