Earlier today the California Air Resources Board (ARB) voted to approve the South Coast Air Quality Management District’s (SCAQMD) Air Quality Management Plan. The Plan outlines strategies needed to bring the Los Angeles Basin into compliance with federal ozone and particulate matter pollution standards required by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Clean Air Act. SCAQMD’s Plan achieves emissions reductions from stationary and mobile sources, and provides incentive funding to outfit heavy-duty vehicles with low-emission natural-gas engines. SoCalGas issued the following statement in response:

“ARB’s approval of the AQMP and the State Implementation Plan strategy is an important milestone in moving forward to cleaner air.  It is the culmination of four years of stakeholder engagement with state agencies, and provides an important framework for achieving emissions reductions to attain better air quality. We agree with the focus in the local District and State plans on accelerating mobile source NOx reductions.  The single most impactful strategy for reducing mobile source emissions is to incentivize the deployment of near-zero heavy-duty trucks that are commercially available today.  These next-generation heavy-duty, natural gas engines are the most cost-effective solution to help meet our air quality and climate change goals. They reduce NOx emissions by 90 percent. And, when used with renewable gas, the near-zero engines can reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 80 percent or more.

We look forward to continuing to work with the local air districts and ARB to develop cost-effective measures to implement these plans.

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About SoCalGas

Southern California Gas Co. has been delivering clean, safe and reliable natural gas to its customers for 150 years.  It is the nation’s largest natural gas distribution utility, providing service to 21.6 million consumers connected through 5.9 million meters in more than 500 communities.  The company’s service territory encompasses approximately 20,000 square miles throughout central and Southern California, from Visalia to the Mexican border. Southern California Gas Co. is a regulated subsidiary of Sempra Energy (NYSE: SRE), a Fortune 500 energy services holding company based in San Diego.