Regional Issues
Air Pollution from Marine Shipping- Impacts to Santa Barbara
County
Page last updated
December 15, 2009.
 News:
- August 26, 2009, the District submitted comments to the
Environmental Protection Agency on proposal to control emissions
from marine engines. See
letter.
- July 28, the National Association of Counties unanimously
adopted a resolution sponsored by APCD Board Member and First
District Supervisor Salud Carbajal calling for regulatory and
other actions to reduce shipping emissions.
Download
announcement (PDF).
- As of July 1, 2009, all oceangoing ships within 24 nautical
miles of California's coastline must use cleaner burning,
lower-sulfur diesel fuel to comply with a new state regulation.
See more information on
the California Air Resources Board website.
- In June 2009, the US Environmental Protection Agency proposed more
stringent exhaust emission standards for the Category 3 engines used
in oceangoing ships. See more information on the
EPA website.
- On April 6, the D.C. Court of Appeals denied the petition of APCD
and the South Coast Air Quality Management District for a rehearing
in the lawsuit challenging US EPA’s failure to adopt standards for
the control of air pollution from Category 3 marine vessel diesel
engines pursuant to Section 213 of the federal Clean Air Act (see
more about this lawsuit here). See
this page for more information.
- On March 30, 2009, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)
announced that the U.S. will ask the International Maritime
Organization to create an emissions control area around the U.S.
coastline. According to the EPA, this proposed 230-mile buffer area
would save as many as 8,300 American and Canadian lives every year
by 2020 by establishing stricter emissions standards for large ships
that operate in this coastal area. For more on the EPA announcement
and on EPA's efforts, see
EPA's web pages.
Listen to radio story (mp3 file) for overview of the issue and
more information on APCD lawsuits:
KCLU News
1-24-08.
See brief filed in U.S.
District Court on 2-22-2008
A container ship travels through
the Santa Barbara Channel. Ships like this one are making
more trips along the coastline every year. In
our waters, due to the location of the
Channel, these huge ships are traveling only ten to fifteen
miles off shore.To see a recent article on marine shipping, and
the impact on our county, click here:
Seattle Times article Tuesday, September 28, 2004. |
This photo was taken from an
airplane by APCD employee
Marc Moritsch. Anacapa
Island is seen in the background. |
Marine shipping represents a major source of
uncontrolled air pollution. Large ships are responsible for a significant
percentage of worldwide emissions of nitrogen oxides, particulate matter,
sulfur, air toxics, greenhouse gases, and ozone-depleting substances. Ships are increasing in number and size, while
the residual heavy fuel oil they use is
degrading in quality.
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