40600-40608
HEALTH AND SAFETY CODE
SECTION 40600-40608
40600. (a) The San Joaquin Valley Unified Air Pollution Control District formed by the Counties of Fresno, Kern, Kings, Madera, Merced, San Joaquin, Stanislaus, and Tulare pursuant to Chapter 3 (commencing with Section 40150), and consisting of the Counties of Fresno, Kings, Madera, Merced, San Joaquin, Stanislaus, and Tulare, and that portion of the County of Kern that is within the San Joaquin Valley Air Basin, is a single integrated agency with all staff under one centralized management structure that is able to implement programs on a basinwide basis, and has all of the following: (1) An individual air pollution control officer who is responsible for the issuance of all permits by the unified district. (2) A single budget for the unified district with resources allocated based on the program needs of the San Joaquin Valley Air Basin. (3) A uniform fee structure. (4) Three hearing boards established pursuant to Section 40800. One hearing board shall serve the northern region, one shall serve the central region, and one shall serve the southern region. Identical policies governing the operation of each hearing board shall be established by the unified district board and shall be binding upon each hearing board. (5) A citizen's advisory committee. (b) Rules and regulations adopted by the San Joaquin Valley Unified Air Pollution Control District are binding on all counties within the unified district. The unified district shall enforce all permits issued by the unified district and all permits issued by the individual county districts prior to formation of the unified district. The unified district shall review, revise, adopt, and implement any air pollution control plans required within the San Joaquin Valley Air Basin by state and federal law. (c) Notwithstanding any other provision of law, the San Joaquin Valley Unified Air Pollution Control District shall be governed by a district board composed of 15 voting members, appointed as follows: (1) Eight members, one of whom shall be appointed by each of the Counties of Fresno, Kern, Kings, Madera, Merced, San Joaquin, Stanislaus, and Tulare. The board of supervisors of each of those counties shall, by majority vote, appoint one of its members to serve as a member of the district board. (2) Five city council members appointed by the special city selection committee created pursuant to Section 40600.5. The special city selection committee shall not appoint more than one city council member representing a city located in the same county. Of the five city council members appointed pursuant to this paragraph, three shall be from a city having a population of less than 100,000, with one member selected from the northern region, one from the central region, and one from the southern region of the district. The other two city council members appointed pursuant to this paragraph shall be from a city having a population of 100,000 or more, with each member selected from different regions of the district. (3) The terms of office for members appointed pursuant to paragraph (2) after April 1, 2007, shall be three years. (4) Two public members appointed by the Governor, with the advice and consent of the Senate, as follows: (A) One public member who is a physician, actively practicing within the district, whose daily practice or research specialty lies in the health effects of air pollution on vulnerable populations. (B) One public member who has medical or scientific expertise in the health effects of air pollution. (5) The terms of office for the members initially appointed pursuant to subparagraphs (A) and (B) of paragraph (4) shall be as follows: (A) For the member appointed pursuant to subparagraph (A) of paragraph (4), the term shall be four years. (B) For the member appointed pursuant to subparagraph (B) of paragraph (4), the term shall be two years. (6) After the initial term of appointment, the terms of office for the members appointed pursuant to subparagraphs (A) and (B) of paragraph (4) shall be four years. (d) Each member shall be appointed on the basis of his or her demonstrated interest and proven ability in the field of air pollution control and their understanding of the needs of the general public in connection with air pollution problems of the San Joaquin Valley Air Basin. (e) Each member shall be appointed on the basis of his or her ability to attend substantially all meetings of the district board, to discharge all duties and responsibilities of a member of the district board on a regular basis, and to participate actively in the affairs of the district. A member shall not designate an alternate for any purpose or otherwise be represented by another person in his or her capacity as a member of the district board. (f) All members shall be residents of the district. (g) Any vacancy in the office of a member of the district board shall be filled promptly by the appointing authority. (h) As used in this section, the following terms have the following meanings: (1) "Central region" means the Counties of Fresno, Kings, and Madera. (2) "Northern region" means the Counties of Merced, San Joaquin, and Stanislaus. (3) "Southern region" means the Counties of Kern and Tulare. 40600.5. (a) The special city selection committee is hereby created to appoint city council members to the district board. The membership of the special city selection committee shall consist of one member from each city council in each city located within the territory of the unified district, selected by a majority of each city council. The members of the special city selection committee shall serve without receiving compensation from the unified district, but a member may be compensated by the city that he or she represents. (b) If a member of the special city selection committee is unable to attend a meeting of the special city selection committee, he or she shall designate a member of that member's city council to attend and vote at the meeting in his or her place. (c) A majority of the total membership of the special city selection committee shall constitute a quorum for the transaction of business. A majority vote of the total membership of the special city selection committee is required for the special city selection committee to take action. (d) The special city selection committee shall appoint from among its members a chair, one or more vice chairs, and any other officers that it deems necessary. The chair shall preside over the meetings of the special city selection committee and the vice chair shall preside in the chair's absence. (e) The special city selection committee may adopt rules for the conduct of its activities. These rules may include, but are not limited to, the procedures for nominating and appointing city council members to the district board. (f) The meetings of the special city selection committee are subject to the Ralph M. Brown Act (Chapter 9 (commencing with Section 54950) of Part 1 of Division 2 of Title 5 of the Government Code). (g) The unified district's air pollution control officer shall act as the special city selection committee's permanent secretary and maintain the records of the actions of the special city selection committee. The minutes of the special city selection committee shall record the aye and no votes taken by its members for all motions and appointments. (h) At least two weeks before the date of any meeting of the special city selection committee, the air pollution control officer shall give notice of the meeting to each city that is located within the territory of the unified district. The notice shall contain the time, date, and place of the meeting, along with a brief general description of the business to be transacted or discussed at the meeting. The air pollution control officer shall also give notice to any person who has filed a written request for notice. The air pollution control officer may give notice in any other manner that he or she deems necessary or desirable. 40601. The district board may adopt rules and regulations by the earliest feasible date that do all of the following: (a) Require the use of best available control technology for new and modified sources, and the use of best available retrofit control technology for existing sources. (b) Promote the use of cleaner burning alternative fuels. (c) Encourage and facilitate ridesharing for commuter trips into, out of, and within the district. (d) Require all businesses described below within the district that employ at least 100 people to establish a rideshare program: (1) That are located within an incorporated city with a population of at least 10,000, as determined by the Demographic Research Unit of the Department of Finance. (2) That are located within an incorporated city with a population of less than 10,000, as determined by the Demographic Research Unit of the Department of Finance, or that are located within the unincorporated area of a county, of which more than 50 percent of their employees work at least 2,040 hours per year. 40602. (a) The district shall expand the office of small business, established by the district, to include agriculture assistance, in order to provide administrative and technical services and information to small businesses, farmers, and the public. (b) The office shall do all of the following: (1) Facilitate and encourage compliance with district rules and regulations by small businesses and farmers. (2) Assist small businesses and farmers in applying for permits and variances, and facilitate the participation of small businesses and farmers in the development of rules and regulations and in other proceedings of the district. (3) Provide information on the public health, environmental, and economic effects of district rules and regulations on small businesses and farmers in the district. (4) Make available to small businesses and farmers information regarding alternative processes, cleaner fuels and solvents, and low-cost financing for air pollution control equipment. 40603. (a) The district shall establish expedited permit review and project assistance mechanisms for facilities or projects that are directly related to research and development, demonstration, or commercialization of electric and other clean fuel vehicle technologies. (b) The mechanisms shall include all of the following: (1) The issuance of consolidated permits, for both construction and operation, in order to expedite the permitting process. (2) The review and processing of permits on a facility or project basis rather than on an equipment basis, to ensure a single point of contact for the applicant and to allow entire projects to be reviewed and evaluated on a single, consolidated schedule. (3) The establishment of a "fast track" permitting procedure to approve permits in an average of 30 days from receipt of all information requested by the district, except for any of the following facilities: (A) Facilities that may emit significant amounts of toxic air contaminants. (B) Facilities that require public notice. (C) Facilities that require additional review to meet the requirements of the federal Clean Air Act (42 U.S.C. Sec. 7401 et seq.) or the California Clean Air Act of 1988 (Chapter 1568 of the Statutes of 1988). (4) The development and implementation of postconstruction enforcement procedures to ensure that new and modified sources are constructed according to permit requirements. (5) The establishment of a liaison program to assist facilities participating in research and development, demonstration, or commercialization of electric and other clean fuel vehicle technologies with preparing permit applications, complying with other district administrative procedures, and identifying and applying for state, federal, district, or other available funds set aside for electric and other clean fuel vehicle related projects. (c) For purposes of this chapter, "clean fuels" are fuels designated by the state board for use in zero emission or partial zero emission vehicles and include, but are not limited to, electricity, hydrogen, liquefied petroleum gas, methanol, and natural gas. 40604. (a) The district board shall adopt, by regulation, a schedule of fees to be assessed on areawide or indirect sources of emissions that are regulated, but for which permits are not issued, by the district to recover the costs of district programs related to these sources. (b) That fee schedule shall be designed to yield a sum not exceeding the estimated cost of the administration of this chapter and mitigation of emissions, and for the filing of applications for variances or to revoke or modify variances. All applicants shall pay the fees required by the schedule, including, notwithstanding Section 6103 of the Government Code, an applicant that is a publicly owned utility. 40605. (a) The district board shall adopt a surcharge on the registration fees applicable to all motor vehicles registered in those counties within the district, as specified in Section 9250.16 of the Vehicle Code. (b) Fees generated by the surcharge imposed pursuant to Section 9250.16 of the Vehicle Code shall only be used to reduce emissions from vehicular sources, including, but not limited to, the following activities: (1) The establishment of a clean fuels program. (2) The adoption and implementation of motor vehicle use reduction measures. (c) No more than 2 percent of the funds collected pursuant to the surcharge shall be used by the district for administrative expenses. (d) The district board shall adopt accounting procedures to ensure that revenues from motor vehicle registration fees are not commingled with other program revenues. 40606. The district board has the authority to monitor emissions from all stationary agricultural pumps in the district, including, but not limited to, those designated by the federal Environmental Protection Agency as "nonroad" engines that are subject to the requirements of Title II of the federal Clean Air Act (42 U.S.C. Sec. 7521 et seq.). 40607. The district shall install one or more monitors for monitoring airborne fine particles smaller than 2.5 microns in diameter (PM 2.5) in primarily low-income and underserved areas in the western region of the County of Fresno. 40608. (a) The district may develop and adopt by regulation, not later than January 1, 2008, a program to offset or mitigate the increased emissions of air contaminants resulting from the operation of the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter program within the district. If the district implements a program under this subdivision, the district shall provide grants to projects that the district determines will provide measurable reductions in emissions of air contaminants in the district, and may include projects that reduce emissions from stationary or mobile sources within the district. Any emission reductions achieved pursuant to this program shall be surplus, quantifiable, permanent, and enforceable and shall not otherwise be required by law or regulation. (b) For purposes of this section: (1) "Joint Strike Fighter Impact Zone" means Kings County. (2) "Base fiscal year" means the 2003-04 fiscal year. (3) "State tax revenues" includes revenues derived from the imposition of taxes under the Sales and Use Tax Law (Part 1 (commencing with Section 6001) of Division 2 of the Revenue and Taxation Code), the Personal Income Tax Law (Part 10 (commencing with Section 17001) of Division 2 of the Revenue and Taxation Code), and the Corporation Tax Law (Part 11 (commencing with Section 23001) of Division 2 of the Revenue and Taxation Code). (c) (1) The California Research Bureau, in consultation with the State Board of Equalization and the Franchise Tax Board, shall, no later than December 31, 2004, calculate the state tax revenues derived from, or attributable to, the Joint Strike Fighter Impact Zone during the base fiscal year. (2) The California Research Bureau, in consultation with the State Board of Equalization and the Franchise Tax Board, shall, no later than December 31, 2007, and no later than December 31 of each following year, calculate the state tax revenues derived from, or attributable to, the Joint Strike Fighter Impact Zone during the preceding fiscal year.