The Stockton Record: Clean air isn't free

San Joaquin County may be the northernmost county in the Valley and enjoy its best air quality, but that doesn't mean county residents are going to escape penalties for poor Valley air.

Penalties of $29 million will be levied by the San Joaquin Valley Pollution Control District because air pollution spiked last week, the result of blistering summer temperatures combined with tailpipe and smokestack emissions.

The district stretches from relatively breezy and often cooler San Joaquin County south to Kern County, where summers can be especially hot and Delta winds nonexistent. Last week, after weeks of mild summer temperatures, the mercury rose, helping trigger a violation of federal clean air standards.

Under the Clean Air Act, factories, power plants and other businesses are to pay the $29 million penalty. That hardly seems fair since about 80 percent of our pollution comes from cars and trucks.

That's why the air district will consider a $10 per vehicle license surcharge as a way to spread the pain.

Nobody likes to pay a fine. No body likes dirty air. But neither can anybody believe the phrase "free as the air we breathe" is true any longer, not if we want clean air.

Ozone pollution, for example, has been linked to asthma, allergies and respiratory problems. The personal and financial costs of those ailments can be staggering.

The fines collected by the district will stay in the district to fund clean-air programs.