Hardesty

*408 Opinion

Joseph and Yvette Hardesty are the owners of Hardesty Sand and Gravel (Hardesty), an open-pit mining operation located near Sloughhouse. The Sacramento Metropolitan Air Quality Management District (District) obtained from its hearing board an abatement order directing Hardesty to cease operation of the central plant equipment and all internal combustion engines with a rating greater than 50 horsepower until Hardesty obtained a permit from the District. Hardesty then filed a petition for writ of mandate in the trial court, seeking an order directing the District to vacate and cease enforcement of the abatement order. The California Air Resources Board (Board) intervened in opposition to Hardesty’s writ petition. The trial court denied the petition.

Hardesty appeals, arguing (1) the trial court should have used the independent judgment standard in reviewing the hearing board’s decision to issue the abatement order; (2) the District’s permit program, which contains an exemption for equipment that emits less than two pounds of pollutants in any 24-hour period, is preempted by the federal Clean Air Act (CAA; 42 U.S.C. § 7401 et seq.) because it contains an emissions…