The federal government last week announced a new standard for dangerous bits of soot, chemical and other debris — saying it will save hundreds of lives when the air is clear in 2020.
On Thursday, the local air district will consider a plan with a 2019 timeline to clean up this debris. So, we’re fine with the new standard, right? Not exactly.
The San Joaquin Valley Air Pollution Control District is not talking about the new standard announced last week. It’s talking about a new standard announced a few years ago.
And, like most new standards, the Valley can’t possibly meet this one in time to avoid a problem with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.
If you’re thinking this is confusing, you’re right. The Valley and the Los Angeles area’s South Coast Air Basin are still struggling to keep up with older standards, much less achieving new ones…
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A board has given final approval to rules aimed at protecting groundwater from farm-based pollutants in part of the San Joaquin Valley.
The Central Valley Regional Water Quality Control Board voted unanimously to adopt the rules, which apply to the parts of Stanislaus, Merced and Madera counties east of the San Joaquin River.
The board also agreed, to the approval of agricultural interests, to have the effort carried out by the same farmer-funded coalition that has handled surface water issues for almost a decade…
The booby prize this year for Dirtiest City in America goes toFresno, California. This Central Valley city suffers some of the worst air in the nation, and a water supply so degraded that the city used to tell pregnant women not to drink from the tap. Fresno epitomizes the environmental challenges of the Golden State. And it’s not alone. Plenty of its neighbors in central California like Modesto, Stockton and Bakersfield have it almost as bad. (Other California metro areas ranked among the 20 Dirtiest Cities includeSan Jose, Riverside and Los Angeles — but don’t worry, they have lots of company from towns in the Midwest and on the East Coast, too.)
The valley air district has developed more ways to show current air quality readings to the public, but it has not calmed debate about smog alerts.
Clean-air advocates have called for countywide alerts when pollution is unhealthy for sensitive groups such as children with asthma.
The advocates charge that an hourly warning system used by the San Joaquin Valley Air Pollution Control District is confusing and does not warn the public when the air is harmful to a large segment of the population, including people with chronic illness and the elderly.
The Central Valley Air Quality Coalition has taken its concerns to county boards and city councils that have representatives on the valley air district board…
Smart Republican strategists—yes, they do exist—acknowledge that their party’s loss of Latinos was critical to President Obama’s re-election. Alienated by Mitt Romney’s call for the “self-deportation” of undocumented immigrants, a whopping 75 percent of Latino voters backed Obama. And they turned out in large enough numbers—nearly 13 million voted, roughly 10 percent of all ballots cast—to make a decisive difference in swing states like Ohio, Pennsylvania and Florida, according to the website Latino Decisions, which tracks Latino politics.
What hasn’t been recognized is Latinos’ potential to play a similar role on climate change: providing the electoral muscle to compel politicians to get serious, finally, about the crisis. Just as Latinos overwhelmingly supported Obama over Romney, they also—along with African-Americans, Asian-Americans and youth of all races—demonstrate the highest levels of support for action against climate change and air pollution, according to extensive polling data…
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency today awards $124,810 in grants to five organizations throughout California to conduct a variety of projects to address environmental justice issues. The projects will provide training, enable communities to better participate in decision-making for environmental health issues, and collect data on community human health issues, among other items…
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has fined Chemical Waste Management, Inc. more than $300,000 for failure to properly manage PCBs at its Kettleman Hills Hazardous Waste Landfill.
The federal agency began investigating the landfill earlier this year after the central California community of Kettleman City complained of a cluster of facial birth defects, infant deaths and other health issues. Residents suspect the birth defects are linked to the operations of the landfill…
Despite new concessions by state regulators, Kern County’s ag industry kept up its fight Friday against rules proposed to protect California groundwater against the overuse of fertilizers and irrigation.
Hundreds of farmers and their representatives gathered in Bakersfield Friday at a meeting of the Central Valley Regional Water Quality Control Board. Many argued that the proposed rules are misdirected and unduly expensive for growers…
Health advocates throughout the San Joaquin Valley will appear before county boards of supervisors and city councils in early December to seek support for an effective Emergency Air Alert system. The community-based organizations are members of the Central Valley Air Quality Coalition’s “Stand for Clean Air in the San Joaquin Valley” project. The valley-wide educational effort seeks to foster local discussion of air pollution impacts and health risks.
Advocates want county-wide emergency air alerts issued for orange, red and purple flag days. Orange flag days are when “sensitive groups” are at risk of being harmed, and more than 60 percent of the Valley’s 4 million residents fall into that category, according to data from the Central California Health Policy Institute and California Health Interview Survey…