Chamber of Commerce Shifts on Clean-Air Plan : Environment: Business group’s opposition turns to neutrality on proposal to let companies buy and sell pollution ‘credits.’

ORANGE —  The Orange County Chamber of Commerce has shifted its position on what may become the world’s first market-based approach to reducing pollution in the South Coast Basin.

The chamber previously opposed the South Coast Air Quality Management District’s controversial free-market pollution plan called RECLAIM, arguing that the financial costs outweighed the benefits to air quality. But on Tuesday, it announced a neutral position on the program.

The program, Regional Clean Air Incentives Market, would allow businesses to buy and sell pollution “credits.”

About 62 industries in Orange County with emissions over four tons per year would have to cut them an average of 8% per year. By 2003, the plants would reduce nitrogen oxide emissions by 80 tons a day, and sulfur oxide emissions by 14 tons a day. Businesses that reduce emissions more than required would earn pollution trading credits which could be sold to companies that need the credits.

The chamber had argued that most of the benefit would go to oil and power companies and other major polluters, and that the monitoring system was unnecessarily complex.

But Bruce Brown, vice president of government relations of the 1,200-member Orange County Chamber of Commerce, said Tuesday that the AQMD “took businesses’ concerns seriously and addressed them.” He added that the chamber still has a number of concerns about the program and is trying to work out some compromises.

RECLAIM also is designed to help spur the development of new “clean” technologies, which are essential for companies to meet future emission requirements, said Jill Whynot, a program supervisor with AQMD. It is these technologies, however, that are still problematic for the Orange County Chamber and some high-emission industries such as the Southern California Gas Co.

“We feel that technology that hadn’t really been invented yet shouldn’t be part of an existing program,” Brown said.

Also holding some reservations is the Southern California Gas Co., which would like to see a limit of 50 tons rather than four tons and voluntary participation for companies that emit less than 50 tons, said Mitchell Pratt, regional affairs manager in Anaheim.

Southern California air quality officials will meet Friday to consider adopting the program. If adopted, it will take effect in January.