The Happiest Place on Earth is not too happy about a new warehouse emissions rule in Southern California, which requires warehouse operators to either do business with more emissions friendly trucks or take on mitigation options that include stiff fees.
Disneyland Resort joined several other organizations, including the California Trucking Association, in voicing concerns about Rule 2305 – otherwise known as the Warehouse Indirect Source Rule (ISR) – which was adopted last month by the South Coast Air Quality Management District (SCAQMD) to reduce air pollution in communities adjacent to warehouses in Los Angeles and neighboring counties.
The rule requires warehouses greater than 100,000 square feet to reduce nitrogen oxide (NOx) and diesel particulate matter (PM) emissions or to help offset these pollutants in nearby communities.
“The rule requires operators to take actions every year to improve air quality by selecting from a menu-based points system,” said SCAQMD Senior Public Information Specialist Bradley Whitaker. “Each warehouse operator’s points compliance obligation is unique to each facility and based on the number of truck trips to their facility during that year.”
Critics of the rule have said the burden of meeting tougher emissions requirements is being unfairly placed on the backs of warehouse owners and operators, many of which do not own trucks.
Truck activity is also a concern. While Disneyland’s warehouse space meets the size threshold for this latest emissions regulation, the Magic Kingdom pointed out that they don’t have truck traffic on a regular basis.
“Our warehouses are large in space (to store off season stuff like Christmas decos) but with very little traffic,” Hao Jiang, environmental affairs engineer at Disneyland Resort, wrote in a letter to SCAQMD prior to the rule’s adoption. “Tracking truck trips will have significant impact to our operational cost. A low activity exemption threshold would be reasonable.”
