ACTIVISTS FEAR SAN JOAQUIN CASH PACTS WITH BUILDERS WILL DERAIL KEY RULE

Environmentalists are troubled that recent agreements by two developers to pay the San Joaquin Valley air district hundreds of thousands of dollars to mitigate construction project impacts will permanently shelve the district's commitment to adopt a broader mitigation rule on residential and commercial building. But air district officials counter that the agreements represent a landmark achievement in forcing developers to mitigate air quality impacts, and contend it will serve as a model for other districts and for the draft rule...