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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
March 29, 2010
Contact:
Tom Murphy, Technology and Environmental Assessment Division Manager, 805-961-8857
International Action on Marine Shipping
Good
News for Santa Barbara County’s Air Quality
SANTA BARBARA, Calif. — The Santa Barbara County Air Pollution
Control District (District) today announced that action taken on Friday
by the International Maritime Organization (IMO) will provide
significant long-term emission reductions from marine shipping and
improve air quality in the county. The IMO designated the waters up to
200 miles off the North American coasts an Emission Control Area, and
required large ships traveling in this area to use cleaner fuel and
control technology. According to the District’s emissions
projections, this action will result in an approximate 37 percent
reduction in emissions of nitrogen oxides (NOx) pollution from ships
affecting Santa Barbara County by 2020.
“We have been
working to raise awareness of this issue for many years. It is so
gratifying to see this action at the international level, since this
huge source of pollution off our coast is not under our local control,”
said District Board Member 1st District Supervisor Salud Carbajal. In
2009, Carbajal sponsored a National Association of Counties resolution
to urge the federal government and the U.S. Environmental Protection
Agency (USEPA) to pursue strategies to control pollution from marine
shipping.
The District’s emission inventories and Clean Air
Plans since 1994 have consistently shown that the air pollution produced
by these large ships traveling through the Santa Barbara Channel has the
potential to overwhelm onshore efforts to reduce pollution. The ships
have been largely unregulated until recently, and their engines burn a
particularly dirty fuel known as bunker oil. The District has filed
lawsuits calling on the USEPA to take action in this area, and has
pursued multiple strategies to try to achieve emission reductions from
these ships, the majority of which are foreign-flagged.
In
2009, the USEPA proposed the creation of an Emission Control Area to the
IMO for consideration, and established standards for new marine engines
for U.S.-flagged ships. Also in 2009, a new California Air Resources
Board rule went into effect, requiring large ships to use cleaner fuel
when traveling 24 nautical miles off the California coast. This action
resulted in many ships traveling outside the Santa Barbara Channel –
which has produced some unanticipated air quality benefits for the
county.
For more information, see the
Marine Shipping page on this site.
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