National Briefing | West: California: New Air Pollution Fees Are Approved

Air pollution regulators in the San Francisco Bay Area voted to approve new rules that impose fees on businesses for emitting heat-trapping gases. The Bay Area Air Quality Management District’s board voted 15 to 1 to charge companies 4.4 cents per ton of carbon dioxide they emit. Experts say the fees are the first of their kind in the country. They will take effect on July 1. About seven power plants and oil refineries would have to pay more than $50,000 a year, but most businesses would pay less than $1, according to district estimates.