Kathryn Phillips of Environmental Defense and Kevin Hall of Sierra Club watch a monitor to listen to opinions from Bakersfield during the meeting. Fifty-seven people spoke, 43 in favor of the rule and 14 against.(Picture courtesy of the Fresno Bee.)
A round-up of Valley regulatory activities can be read here. Read the American Lung Association's summary here.
Indirect Source Rule
California's San Joaquin Valley has become the first place in the nation to charge builders a fee on new developments intended to help mitigate the Valley's air pollution problems.
Read the District's ISR program inforamation.
Read Environmental Defense's "Incentives for Healthy Communities" report about the ISR.
Another small step: Air district's approval of fees on new development is good news - Fresno Bee (12/17/05)
Pollution fees fall to builders - Fresno Bee (12/16/05)
Builders in Central Valley of California May Face Pollution Fees - New York Times (12/16/05)
Air quality fee causes furor - Modesto Bee (10/25/05)
Carolina Simunovic with her daughter Isabella testifying in front of a EPA panel about the proposed particulate matter rollback.
New Particulate Matter Regulations
In spite of the scientific evidence showing correlations between coarse particles and adverse health effects in both rural and urban settings, EPA is playing politics by proposing to designate air quality standards for coarse particles only in urban settings, benefiting industry at the expense of the health of rural citizens.
True Grit - Sacramento Bee (1/27/06)
EPA Panel Advises Agency Chief to Think Again - Los Angeles Times (2/4/06)
EPA panel blasts air-rule changes - Sacramento Bee (2/4/06)
New EPA Soot Limits Faulted by Scientists - Associated Press (2/3/06)
Dark Science - San Francisco Chronicle (3/2/06)
Critics dust off an EPA panel - Fresno Bee (3/9/06)
Link to EPA documents.
Read the SJUAPCD 2006 PM-10 Plan.
See what industry is saying.
Read American Lung Association's particulate matter briefing book [PDF].
Read Earthjustice's white paper on coarse particulate matter [pdf].
Read the EPA-sponsored Clean Air Science Advisory Committee's letter [PDF] to EPA Administrator Stephen Johnson.
Read Center on Race, Poverty & the Environment's comment letter [PDF].
Read American Lung Association, Appalachian Mountain Club, Earthjustice, Environmental Defense, National Parks Conservation Association, and Natural Resources Defense Council's comment letter [PDF].
Large Confined Animal Facility Rule
The San Joaquin Valley is the state's biggest source of livestock emissions - mostly from dairies - called reactive organic gases, or smog-forming ROG.
Read a Latino Issues Forum fact sheet: "The Impact of Dairies on Water and Air Quality in California."
Read a study on the effect of confined swine feeding operation (CAFO) air emissions on middle-school students.
In San Joaquin Valley, Cows Pass Cars as Polluters - Los Angeles Times (8/2/05)
A Malodorous Fog - The New York Times editorial (8/7/05)
In California, Agriculture Takes Center Stage in Pollution Debate - Washington Post (9/26/05)
Air rule for Valley dairies provokes sharp debate - Fresno Bee (3/15/06)
Dairies express pollution proposal worries - Modesto Bee (3/15/06)
New air rule targets dairies - Fresno Bee (3/13/06)
Air district rule doesn't attack ammonia from dairies - The Bakersfield Californian (3/12/06)
Air rule could force change at farms - Stockton Record (6/12/06)
Dairy pollution cleanup rules get sour review - The Bakersfield Californian (6/15/06)
Measure to reduce smog from cows OK'd - Modesto Bee (6/15/06)
Air board approves controls for dairies - The Hartford Sentinel (6/16/06)
Dairy air act too weak says one group - Bakersfield Online (6/16/06)
Dairy pollution rule passes; lawyer calls it an 'empty gesture' - Fresno Bee (6/16/06)
A smoke belching train pulling a few of the more than 80 million tons of freight which passes through Kern County by rail annually. Photo was taken in May 2006 between Shafter and Wasco on the BNSF rail line.
Ports, Goods Movement, and Diesel
CVAQ is committed to working to develop and enforce strong regulations as part of the Diesel Risk Reduction Plan.
Read a study by the Union of Concerned Scientists found that an estimated 3,000 premature deaths occur each year in California as a result of diesel exhaust.
Ships, Trucks, and Trains: Effects of Goods Movement on Environmental Health - Environmental Health Perspectives editorial (April 2006)
Ports in a Storm - Environmental Health Perspectives article (April 2006)
