Longtime Air Monitoring Supervisor heads off to retirement
Another long career of dedicated service to the Mojave Desert AQMD recently wrapped up.
MDAQMD bid farewell and happy retirement to Air Monitoring Supervisor Chris Collins on Feb. 25.
Collins was a staple of the MDAQMD team for 31 years. He joined the District as a supervising air quality engineer when it was still a San Bernardino County department in 1991. He moved to the Compliance section before transitioning back to Engineering in 2011.
The District appointed him as the supervisor of Air Monitoring in 2016, but Collins' work wasn’t always confined to a desk. He was the go-to for numerous tasks including fleet management, building maintenance and anything else the District needed.
The MDAQMD Governing Board presented a plaque to Collins at its January meeting for his many years of service. Please join us in saying thank you to Collins for his many years of commitment to the Mojave Desert Air Basin and our team.
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MDAQMD welcomes several new faces in 2022
The MDAQMD staff is continuing to evolve as we’ve recently welcomed new people in place of those who have moved on to other roles and agencies.
- Adrianna Castaneda joined the part of our team that staffs the Antelope Valley AQMD in Lancaster. Adrianna served as a Traditional Guardsman at the Channel Islands Air National Guard Station for six years. For the following three years, as a federal employee at Channel Islands processing all new service member packages as well as acting as point of contact for service member separations, retirements and transfers.
MDAQMD staff through contract operates the AVAQMD.
- Darnell Mariano is one of our two new technology specialists. Darnell has more than five years of experience working in the technology field supporting a myriad of systems ranging from older technologies to cloud-based infrastructures. He believes joining MDAQMD is a "great way to be a part of an organization that's doing good for our community and the environment."
- Kourtney Heald rounds out our Air Monitoring section. Kourtney is finishing up her undergraduate education at the University of Redlands; she's set to graduate in April with a bachelor of science in biology and a bachelor of arts in health, medicine and society (similar to a medical philosophy major). She's previously worked in labs doing autism research on mouse models as well as research on ovarian cancer chemoresistance and metastasis.
- Ralph Labon is the second of our new technology specialists, coming to us after spending the past three years working in information technology, primarily in education. He's lived in the High Desert since 1995, completing associate of arts and science degrees at Victor Valley College. He continues work on his undergrad in information systems at City University of New York (CUNY) School of Professional Studies. Ralph is passionate about learning, specifically in technology and design. He enjoys cooking, graphic design, playing chess and hiking.
"Working in local government was a personal goal of mine," Ralph said. "The meaningful and challenging work with the chance to make a difference is what drew me to this opportunity. The chance to grow and learn more was also a big plus."
MDAQMD has two additional staffers joining the team. Since they hadn’t had their first day as of this publication, we’ll introduce them in our next Air Mail.
March 31 deadline for key grant program applications
MDAQMD is accepting applications for its 2022 Carl Moyer Program through March 31. The program offers grant funding for emissions reduction projects within its jurisdiction. The mission of the program is to improve local air quality by funding local, cost-effective projects to upgrade heavy-duty diesel equipment using proven technologies and procedures that reduce oxides of nitrogen (NOx), particulate matter (PM) and reactive organic gases (ROG) from diesel-powered engines.
Since the MDAQMD began its participation in the program, the District has awarded more than $13 million to eligible projects.
Funding is provided by ARB’s Carl Moyer Memorial Air Quality Standards Attainment Program and DMV surcharge fees. Diesel exhaust is a serious public health risk. According to the California Air Resources Board's (ARB) website, diesel exhaust is responsible for 70 percent of the cancer risk in the state from toxic air contaminants, and a major contributor to lung and heart problems.
Visit https://ww2.arb.ca.gov/resources/overview-diesel-exhaust-and-health to learn more about diesel exhaust and its effects on air quality in California.
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