Comment Log Display

July 31, 2008

Mary Nichols, Chairperson
California Air Resources Board
1001 I St. P.O. Box 2815
Sacramento, CA 95812

Re: AB 32 Scoping Plan and Community Impacts Measures

Dear Chairperson Nichols:

On May 30, several environmental and health groups submitted a
letter to you regarding the urgent need for the Air Resources
Board to conduct public health and local impacts assessments on
the mix of policies being considered by staff for the scoping
plan.  

We are pleased that the draft scoping plan commits to analyze all
of the measures in the plan for impacts they will have on air
pollution and public health (ES-2, 4, p.10).  We look forward to
seeing the results of those analyses and any subsequent revisions
made to the plan based on the results.

Before the scoping plan is finalized, we encourage CARB to do the
following:

•	Assess, as accurately as possible, the co-pollutant increases or
decreases associated with the five scenarios that have thus far
been the subject of economic modeling.  Based on these
assessments, estimate the statewide and, to the extent feasible,
local health impacts that may occur as a result for each of the
five scenarios. We concur with the EJ Advisory Committee
recommendation that outside health experts should be consulted to
assist with the assessment of health impacts.

•	Determine, as accurately as possible, the co-pollutants changes
and resulting health impacts associated with each policy under
consideration for the scoping plan (as would be required for
determining cost-effectiveness).  Use this information to
determine how impacts would differ amongst mixes of policy
choices.

•	State in the Scoping Plan how CARB plans to accomplish the more
detailed screenings that are required for each proposed regulation
and market mechanism before it is implemented. (These screenings
are spelled out in Health and Safety Code 38562 (b) (1-9) and
38570 (b) (1-3) and include not disproportionately impacting
low-income communities, not interfering with achieving air quality
standards, maximizing total benefits to California, etc. ). 

•	State in the Scoping Plan that analytical tools and data sets
needed will be updated periodically in consultation with outside
experts and the EJ Advisory Committee.

•	Clearly state in the scoping plan that no regulation or market
mechanism included in the scoping plan will be implemented unless
it has undergone the aforementioned screenings and meets the
requirements established in 38562 (b) (1-9) and 38570 (b) (1-3).

Cumulative Impacts Screenings
CARB should conduct a cumulative impacts assessment to identify
geographic areas that currently bear a higher pollution burden
using the best available data and tools, including the Cumulative
Impacts Screening Tool being developed by a team of university
researchers in conjunction with CARB.  This will give CARB a
snapshot of communities that will need to be protected from
potential increases in pollution due to future implementation of
climate policies.  Such a screening is only a first step in the
design of state climate policies.  CARB should use currently
available information to identify communities with a higher
pollution burden prior to the completion of the scoping plan.

Additional cumulative impacts screenings for the areas identified
in an initial screening as disproportionately burdened
communities--using a new tool or an adaptation of an existing tool
that can extrapolate the future impacts of a proposed policy or set
of policies-- will need to be conducted before any regulations are
implemented.  These screenings should inform decisions about which
climate policies are implemented and how such policies are designed
to assure that already-burdened communities will not be impacted by
increases in pollution.

We thank you for all of your hard work and your willingness to
work with stakeholders through this complex process of developing
a world-class scoping plan that can become a model for the nation
and the world.

Sincerely, 

American Lung Association
California Wind Energy Association
Center for Biological Diversity
Coalition for Clean Air
Environment California
Environmental Defense Fund
Natural Resources Defense Council
Planning and Conservation League
Sierra Club
Union of Concerned Scientists