![]() That’s why air quality regulators stepped into the dispute. The state Coastal Commission, which has jurisdiction over coastal land use and access, opposed the move, saying it would limit the public’s right to low-cost oceanfront recreation.īeach fires have been exempt from air quality regulations for years. The dispute began earlier this year as Newport Beach proposed removing all 60 of its beach fire rings near the Balboa Pier and at Corona del Mar State Beach. Hundreds of beach bonfire boosters are expected to turn out in support of a ritual they consider synonymous with the California lifestyle. The South Coast district board will hold a public hearing in Diamond Bar before voting on new restrictions proposed for beach fire rings. The dispute, raging for months and fed by underlying claims of elitism by wealthy oceanfront neighborhoods, is expected to come to a head today. Of concern are the highly localized particulates that waft into beach communities from a concentration of fires on the sand nearby. In their view, widespread pollution isn’t the issue. Regulators at the South Coast Air Quality Management District concede that the 765 fire rings in Los Angeles and Orange counties are responsible for a trifling amount of fine particulate pollution spewed into Southern California skies each year - and that doesn’t include emissions from wildfires.īut regulators say that argument is beside the point. “There are a lot of trouble spots and yet there’s been a laser-like focus on something that is almost statistically zero compared to those other sources.”Įpting has a point. “I’ve wondered why they haven’t focused on other areas: inland, the ports or the nightly Disneyland fireworks,” said Epting, who writes a column for the Huntington Beach Independent. ![]() Like many defenders of the beach bonfire, Chris Epting has questioned the priorities of air quality regulators who want to clamp down on the hundreds of fire rings that blaze nightly on Los Angeles and Orange County beaches, sending pollutants into beachfront neighborhoods. ![]() UC Davis Air Quality Research Center Director Anthony Wexler on the state of air pollution in California
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |