California spurs perc switching
A California legislator wants cleaners to
quit using perc and he is willing to pay them to switch.
Alan Lowenthal, a Democrat who represents
the Long Beach area, has introduced a bill that would place a
$3 per gallon fee on perc with the proceeds going into a fund
that would provide grants of $10,000 to perc cleaners to
“transition to a non-toxic drycleaning
process.”
Lowenthal said his bill would provide
about $1 million annually to help cleaners switch from perc to
an alternative. That amount could increase since the bill calls
for raising the per-gallon fee by $1 a year beginning in 2005,
topping off at $12 per gallon in 2013.
“I believe in the ‘polluter
pays’ philosophy,” Lowenthal said. “My bill
AB 998 says that if you use a toxic chemical in drycleaning,
you have to pay for it. However, if you use the non-toxic
alternative, you get paid.”
It would be up to the California Air
Resources Board to determine what qualifies as a non-toxic,
non-smog forming alternative. The language suggests a
preference for wetcleaning or liquid carbon dioxide based
systems, but the bill does not specify what would ultimately
qualify. A similar bill introduced by Assembly member Paul
Koretz in February would have made $10,000 grants available for
wetcleaning and liquid carbon dioxide systems and $5,000 grants
for hydrocarbon or silicone-based systems. However, that bill
has not moved and Koretz has since joined Lowenthal as a
cosponsor on AB 998.
To be eligible for a grant under the
Lowenthal proposal, a cleaner would have to completely replace
perc-based systems. The air board would determine the
eligibility of individual grant recipients, with one
stipulation being that least 50 percent of the grant money
would “directly benefit low-income communities and
communities of color that are disproportionately impacted by
air pollution.”
An earlier version of the bill had the
per-gallon fee paid by every person who purchases perc, but the
current amended version would have the fee paid by every
manufacturer of perc in the state and every person who imports
perc into California.
Another provision of the bill directs the
air board to establish a “demonstration project” to
“showcase professional nontoxic and non-smog
forming dry cleaning technologies.”
Lowenthal’s bill passed the
Environmental Safety and Toxic Materials Committee by a 5-1
vote April 9. Lowenthal is a member of that committee.
The assembly action comes on the heels of
the state’s South Coast air Quality Management District
vote to phase out perc over the next 17 years.
SCAQMD currently has $2 million in grant
money available for cleaners who want to replace perc
equipment. The SCAQMD grants provide $10,000 towards the
purchase of a water-based or liquid carbon dioxide system and
$5,000 for hydrocarbon or silicone systems.
The air district also provides bank loan
assistance to cleaners who otherwise might have trouble
qualifying for a loan.
The grants are available on a first-come,
first-served basis. Interested cleaners can contact Jackson
Yoong at (909) 396-3125 or Greg Ushijima at (909) 396-3301 or
visit the AQMD web page www.aqmd.gov/business/drycleaninggrants.htm.
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