UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA, SAN DIEGO RECLAIMing Air, Redefining Democracy: A History of the Regional Clean Air Incentives Market, Environmental Justice, and Risk, 1960 – present A dissertation submitted in partial satisfaction of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in History (Science Studies) by Krystal L. Tribbett Committee in charge: Professor Naomi Oreskes, Co-Chair Professor Cathy Gere, Co-Chair Professor Luis Alvarez Professor Nancy Kwak Professor David Serlin 2014 Copyright Krystal L. Tribbett, 2014 All rights reserved The Dissertation of Krystal L. Tribbett is approved, and it is acceptable in quality and in form for publication on microfilm and electronically: ________________________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________________ Co-Chair ________________________________________________________________________ Co-Chair University of California, San Diego 2014 iii Dedication To my parents, for their constant support and encouragement, and for keeping me going when I thought I had no more to give. I love you now and always. iv Table of Contents Signature Page ................................................................................................................... iii Dedication .......................................................................................................................... iv Table of Contents ................................................................................................................ v Acknowledgements ........................................................................................................... vii Vita ..................................................................................................................................... ix Abstract of the Dissertation ............................................................................................... xi Introduction ......................................................................................................................... 1 Chapter 1: Balancing Air and the Economy: Command-and-Control and Market Incentives at the Federal Level ......................................................................................... 14 1.1 Introduction ............................................................................................................. 14 1.2 The Advent of the Clean Air Act ............................................................................ 16 1.3 Prelude to Command-and-Control .......................................................................... 24 1.4 The Adoption of the Air Quality Act ...................................................................... 30 1.5 The Rise of Command-and-Control........................................................................ 34 1.6 The Fall of Command-and-Control ........................................................................ 41 1.7 The Political and Theoretical Roots of Emissions trading...................................... 44 Chapter 2: The Coming of Cap-and-trade ........................................................................ 53 2.1 Introduction ............................................................................................................. 53 2.2 Offsetting and Banking ........................................................................................... 57 2.3 Netting and Bubbles ................................................................................................ 59 2.4 The Reagan Years ................................................................................................... 64 2.5 The Clean Air Act and Cost-Benefit Analysis ........................................................ 69 2.6 The Controlled Trading Policy Statement .............................................................. 77 2.7 Ruckelshaus and Risk Assessment ......................................................................... 83 2.8 Acid Rain ................................................................................................................ 88 2.9 Beyond Acid Rain ................................................................................................... 95 Chapter 3: The Path to Emissions Trading in the South Coast Air Basin ........................ 98 3.1 Introduction ............................................................................................................. 98 3.2 Los Angeles Smog .................................................................................................. 99 3.3 Towards a Regional Control District .................................................................... 108 3.4 The Air Quality Act and the Mulford-Carrell Act ................................................ 112 3.5 Reagan and the Economics of Smog Control ....................................................... 116 v 3.6 SOHIO and the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) ......................... 119 3.7 Poor Planning: An Air Quality Management Plan in the South Coast Basin ....... 124 3.8 Moderately Radical ............................................................................................... 128 3.9 A New Sense of Urgency ...................................................................................... 132 3.10 The 1989 Air Quality Management Plan ............................................................ 137 3.11 The 20-year Plan Under Fire............................................................................... 140 3.12 The Thin Line of Compromise ........................................................................... 142 3.13 The Advent of RECLAIM .................................................................................. 146 Chapter 4: RECLAIMing Air, Redefining Democracy .................................................. 151 4.1 Introduction ........................................................................................................... 151 4.2 RECLAIM............................................................................................................. 156 4.3 Challenges to RECLAIM ...................................................................................... 160 4.4 The District’s Position .......................................................................................... 170 4.5 Understanding the Clash ....................................................................................... 171 4.6 RECLAIM Worked? ............................................................................................. 184 4.7 Risk ....................................................................................................................... 189 Conclusion ...................................................................................................................... 195 References ....................................................................................................................... 199 vi Acknowledgements I would like to acknowledge my Dissertation Committee members, Professor Luis Alvarez, Professor Cathy Gere, Professsor Nancy Kwak, and Professor David Serlin, for their support over the years. I would especially like to acknowledge my Committee Chair, Professor Naomi Oreskes, and Professor Cathy Gere for their unwavering support, continuous encouragement, and invaluable recommendations on various aspects of this dissertation. It has been an honor to work with you, and my debts to you are innumerable. I would also like to acknowledge Lynn Russell, Professor of Atmospheric Chemistry at Scripps Institute of Oceanography. Initial research for this dissertation project was inspired by my time as a research assistant for Professor Russell’s James S. McDonnell Foundation funded project on aerosol history. Much of this work was funded under an American Meteorological Society History of Science dissertation research grant. Other funding was received from the U.C. Humanities Research Institute, Center for Global California Studies, and the UCSD Science Studies Program and Department of History. I would like to thank the library staff who welcomed me into their facilities, especially Hiawatha Norris from the South Coast Air Quality Management District Library, and the staff at the Coalition for Clean Air. Chapters 1, 2, and 4, contain material published in Research in Urban Sociology: Urban Areas and Global Climate Change 2012. Tribbett, Krystal. 2012. “Win, Lose, or Draw: Assessing the Success of the Environmental Justice Movement in Emissions trading Schemes.” Urban Areas and Global Climate Change, 12: 135-167. The dissertation author was the only investigator and author of this material. vii I am indebted to my friend and colleague Katrina Peterson Perez for her advice on drafts of this and other works, her patient ear for ideas, her friendship, and overwhelming support. I extend many thanks to Rahsheda Smith for being one of my biggest cheerleaders. My parents Tony and Rebecca Tribbett, my sister Karen, and my nieces Jordyn and Devon have shown immeasurable support for my interests over the years. For that I owe them so much gratitude. Words cannot express how my mother’s love and support have made the completion of this dissertation possible. Mommy,