NEW AIR CONTROLS COMING? EPA MAY RECLASSIFY EAST KERN COUNTY.

Byline: Jim Skeen Staff Writer

EDWARDS AIR FORCE BASE - Federal environmental officials want to tighten emission control standards for east Kern County to help resolve an air pollution problem in the neighboring San Joaquin Valley - a plan that has the Air Force and local politicians crying foul.

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency is planning to reclassify its San Joaquin Valley planning area, saying it has a ``severe'' rather than a ``serious'' pollution problem.

East Kern County, including Edwards Air Force Base and the China Lake Naval Weapons Center, is included in the San Joaquin Valley planning area even though the region is in a different air basin.

The Kern County Air Pollution Control District, the Air Force and local congressmen are fighting the designation change, arguing that the region has better air quality than the San Joaquin Valley and that the air problems it does have are primarily the result of polluted air blowing in from other areas.

East Kern officials are worried the designation change could scare off military programs from Edwards and China Lake and discourage private businesses from moving into the surrounding communities.

The designation change lowers the definition of a major source of emissions from 50 tons to 25 tons per year and also requires more reports for those sources. Kern County Air Pollution Control District would also be required to establish new emission control rules and fees.

``The real concern is the stigma of having east Kern labeled as severe when the air quality is relatively quite good,'' said Tom Paxson, air pollution control officer for the KCAPCD. ``When the Pentagon and Congress assign new projects for federal facilities one of the factors they look at is environmental issues, including air quality. This could make a difference.''

The designation change could also scare off companies who consider quality of life factors for their employees when looking to relocate, Paxson said.

``My board has authorized us to investigate legal remedies,'' Paxson said. ``We will go to the courts if we have to.''

Rep. Bill Thomas, R-Bakersfield, whose district includes Edwards, will try to insert language into the EPA's fiscal 2001 appropriations bill that would block the move. Thomas is supported in the effort by Rep. Howard ``Buck'' McKeon, R-Santa Clarita; Rep. Jerry Lewis, R-Redlands; Rep. Duncan Hunter, R-El Cajon; and Rep. Duke Cunningham, R-Escondido.

In June, the five congressmen sent a letter to EPA Administrator Carol Browner asking the EPA to consider east Kern County as a separate planning area.

``Eastern Kern is 4,000 square miles in size, an area larger than most of the ozone planning areas along the Northeastern seaboard,'' the congressmen wrote. ``It can be viewed as a stand-alone area.''

The EPA rejects the idea of creating a separate east Kern County planning area, saying that granting such a request would trigger a flood of similar pleas from other regions.

EPA officials said that if the planning area were to be altered, the most natural change would be to include east Kern County in the Southeast Desert planning area, an area that includes much of San Bernardino County and is also designated as ``severe'' in air quality. While the Tehachapi Mountain range separates east Kern County from the San Joaquin Valley, there are no natural barriers between east Kern County and the Southeast Desert area.

The San Joaquin Valley planning area includes eight counties: San Joaquin, Stanislaus, Merced, Madera, Fresno, Kings, Tulare and Kern. The planning area includes two air pollution control districts, the San Joaquin Valley Unified and Kern County Air Pollution Control districts.

Under the Clean Air Act, planning areas are deemed to be ``nonattainment'' if ozone levels exceed federal standards on an average of more than one day per year over a three-year period.

Under the law, there are five classifications of nonattainment - marginal, moderate, serious, severe, and extreme.

In 1990, the San Joaquin Valley planning area was designated as serious and was required to provide a plan to reach attainment with federal standards by Nov. 15, 1999.

While the planning area's air quality has improved, poor air quality exceeded the ozone standard 80 times between 1997 and 1999, the EPA said. Air monitors at Edwards show that the federal standard was exceeded six times in east Kern County during the same time period.

That should classify the region, at the worst, as being ``moderate,'' east Kern County officials said.

``We are proud of our Environmental Management program here, and we maintain a pollution prevention program that limits emissions into the atmosphere, and continuously seek new opportunities to prevent pollution at the source,'' said Col. Robert Hood, Edwards vice commander. ``However, we also support the concept that eastern Kern County should not be in the San Joaquin Valley planning area for air quality attainment and nonattainment decisions.''

Exposure to ozone can reduce lung function and cause chest pains and coughing. Repeated exposure can make people, especially children and the elderly, more susceptible to respiratory diseases, EPA official said.

``The San Joaquin Valley has made great progress in cleaning up its air. It's just not clean enough to be consistently safe to breathe,'' said Felicia Marcus, the EPA regional administrator for the Pacific southwest.

The EPA will take public comments on the proposed designation change through Aug. 19. The EPA will be required to respond to all comments.

Following the responses to the public comments, the EPA can enact the designation change.