DIAMOND BAR—The South Coast Air Quality Management District (South Coast AQMD) has issued more than 100 violations to warehouses across the region as part of a recent enforcement initiative to bring these large facilities into compliance with the agency’s Warehouse Indirect Source Rule (Rule 2305).
Since October, South Coast AQMD has visited more than 500 warehouses and to date has issued a total of 109 Notices of Violation (NOVs) to warehouse owners and operators that have failed to meet rule deadlines. NOVs have been issued to warehouses in Los Angeles County, Orange County, Riverside County, and San Bernardino County.
“It is critical to reduce emissions from sources associated with warehouse operations,” said Wayne Nastri, South Coast AQMD Executive Officer. “Our enforcement team is actively working to ensure that all warehouses subject to our Indirect Source Rule comply with their obligations in order to protect the health of all residents in our region, including those living closest to these facilities.”
In May 2021, the agency’s Governing Board passed Rule 2305, which requires warehouses greater than 100,000 square feet to take actions to reduce nitrogen oxide (NOx) and diesel particulate matter (PM) emissions or to otherwise limit exposures to air pollution in nearby communities. In September of this year, South Coast AQMD issued a Compliance Advisory announcing that the agency’s enforcement staff was preparing to take action against facility owners and operators that failed to meet the deadlines for actions required under the rule. The investigation and corresponding in-person visits started in environmental justice areas and then expanded throughout the agency’s four-county jurisdiction.
About 1,000 warehouses were required to take actions in calendar year 2022 to reduce their air quality impacts. The rule is being phased in over a five-year period, and the number of warehouses that are required to take action this year will grow to about 2,000 facilities. Violators of air quality rules can face civil penalties of up to $11,700 per day of noncompliance with greater penalties available for negligent and intentional violations.
Warehouses are a key destination for heavy-duty trucks and have other sources of emissions like cargo handling equipment, all of which contribute to local pollution. Emissions from sources associated with warehouses account for almost as much NOx emissions as all of the refineries, power plants and other stationary sources in the South Coast Air Basin combined. Those living within a half mile of warehouses are more likely to have higher rates of asthma and heart attacks and must endure a greater environmental burden. Once the rule is fully implemented, it is expected to reduce smog-forming emissions by 10-15 percent from warehouse-related sources.
More information can be found at: http://www.aqmd.gov/waire.
South Coast AQMD is the regulatory agency responsible for improving air quality for large areas of Los Angeles, Orange, Riverside and San Bernardino counties, including the Coachella Valley. For news, air quality alerts, event updates and more, please visit us at http://www.aqmd.gov, download our award-winning app, or follow us on Facebook, X (formerly known as Twitter) and Instagram.
