Spring 2022

Inside this edition:

• Registration open for CDAWG 2022
• Three stations earn 5-year Mojave Green distinction
• MDAQMD launches Air Aware award program
• Fireworks pose risk to ambient air quality

But first...

Registration open for CDAWG 2022

Sponsorships available for conference’s first visit to San Diego

The long-standing annual tradition of the California Desert Air Working Group Conference, better known to most as CDAWG, is heading to San Diego in November.

Registration is now officially open, and STIHL and Makita have signed on as presenting sponsors of this year’s event.

The conference annually draws attendees from various sectors and industries, ranging from air quality districts and similar environmental agencies in California and beyond, public utilities, cement and manufacturing companies, elected representatives and more.

Outside of the presenting level, sponsorships are available for the event including reception; breakfast (Day 2); and coffee breaks. Those interested in sponsoring should contact MDAQMD Communications Analyst Martial Haprov at mhaprov@mdaqmd.ca.gov for details. A sponsorship benefit sheet is available for download on the CDAWG web page: https://mdaqmd.ca.gov/CDAWG.

Presentations and speakers will be announced in the coming months.

Register now!

3 stations first to achieve
‘5-Year’ Mojave Green status

Caltrans District 8 Vidal Maintenance Station at Vidal Junction (intersection of Highways 62 and 95) received their fifth consecutive Mojave Green Gas Station award at the MDAQMD Governing Board Meeting on April 25, 2022.

20 stations overall receive ‘Mojave Green’ honors in 2022

Gas stations in the MDAQMD jurisdiction have once again helped break records in the annual Mojave Green Gas Station recognition.

Three stations in particular were the first in the history of the awards program to achieve five years of consecutive Mojave Green awards:

• Caltrans District 8 Vidal Maintenance Station at Vidal Junction (intersection of Highways 62 and 95 near the Arizona border);
• Chevron USA 99752 on Lenwood Road in Barstow (next to Interstate 15 and the Lenwood outlets);
• Chevron station 373173 on Highway 395 in Victorville (adjacent to the Walmart store on Palmdale Road).

To qualify for the Mojave Green award, a refueling station within MDAQMD’s boundaries must pass a permit inspection "deficiency-free," and have no air quality-related violations on record for a minimum of three consecutive years. To meet these two requirements, a station must be in compliance with all permit conditions and applicable District rules and regulations, including District Rule 461 - Gasoline Transfer and Dispensing and California Air Resources Board Executive Orders.

Each station awardee receives a certificate signed by MDAQMD Executive Director/Air Pollution Control Officer Brad Poiriez, a decal for their front door denoting their status as a Mojave Green Gas Station and the qualifying year(s) in which they passed the compliance inspection, and stickers showing the Mojave Green Gas Station logo that are displayed at each pump.

The 5-year honorees also attended the April meeting of the MDAQMD Governing Board where they received a banner to display on their facilities denoting the honor. Their 5-year award equates to eight years of consecutive passing inspections.

“We’re thrilled to have so many stations continue to add on to our growing list of Mojave Green recipients, and to add these three that achieved the 5-Year status is an exemplary display,” Poiriez said. “We applaud every one of them for their continued commitment to meeting these inspection requirements each year and prioritizing air quality in the Mojave Desert.”

The honor this year went to 20 stations in total, located in Apple Valley, Baker, Barstow, Blythe, Hesperia, Phelan, Victorville, Vidal and Yucca Valley. The 2022 honorees qualified for the award based on their 2021 annual inspection.

Click here for more information including photos of recipients

Permits & Compliance

MDAQMD operational numbers at a glance

As of June 3, 2022

• Active Permits: 4,622
• Permitted Active Facilities: 1,433

March to May 2022

• Applications received: 95
• Complaints: 95
• Violation notices: 77
• Certificates of Occupancy: 169

2022 Air Aware Award Recipient Walmart Distribution Center 7033 in Apple Valley.

These six facilities are Air Aware

MDAQMD presents inaugural round of new award classification Six companies in the Mojave Desert Air Quality Management District are now recognized as Air Aware. Following the continued success of the Mojave Green Gas Station program, MDAQMD expanded the concept to include industry categories outside of gas stations. The criteria was also expanded to help focus the award on facilities that exemplify traits worthy of being called, “Air Aware.” The inaugural recipients of the Air Aware Award include: 29 Palms Water District in Twentynine Palms; Brickley Construction with various project locations in the MDAQMD jurisdiction; Crawford & Associates in Blythe; High Desert Auto Body in Victorville; Silver Hangar Cleaners in Twentynine Palms; Walmart Distribution Center in Apple Valley. Representatives from MDAQMD visited each of the inaugural recipient facilities in person to deliver a certificate and decal recognizing the honor. Walmart Distribution Center in Apple Valley was the first facility presentation scheduled; to highlight the momentous occasion, Apple Valley Mayor Pro-tem Curt Emick joined MDAQMD staff to present the award to staff at the facility. To qualify, aside from passing annual compliance inspections for three consecutive years, facilities must have good housekeeping and superior recordkeeping; ease of availability of records; ease of inspection; and is knowledgeable about the District’s rules and regulations. For photos of the Air Aware presentations and more about the program, visit https://mdaqmd.ca.gov/airaware.

Fireworks can affect air quality

With Independence Day just around the corner, celebrations featuring fireworks will again grace skies throughout the Mojave Desert and all over the nation.

However, it’s important to know fireworks do pose a risk for our ambient air quality in more than one way.

MDAQMD has measured an increase in PM2.5 levels late on July 4 and on July 5 in years past, likely a direct result of numerous commercial fireworks displays as well as an extraordinary volume of illegal “backyard” fireworks.

Fireworks are known to emit high levels of PM2.5 and PM10 as well as metal air pollutants, all of which can contribute to negative health effects. Breathing high levels of fine particulate matter can lead to a wide variety of cardiovascular and respiratory health effects such as heart attacks, asthma aggravation, decreased lung function, coughing and difficulty breathing.

Fireworks, especially “personal” ones ignited illegally pose a serious threat of sparking wildfires. As with any wildfire, this potential threat is not only a danger to life and property, it can create unhealthy and potentially hazardous air quality conditions.

Increasing levels of smoke can affect everyone, but it’s particularly unhealthy for those with heart and respiratory illnesses, children, seniors and active adults.

In any area impacted by poor air quality including smoke and residual pollution from fireworks:

• everyone should consider avoiding any vigorous outdoor or indoor exertion;
• people with respiratory or heart disease, older adults, and children should consider remaining indoors;
• keep windows and doors closed;
• run your air conditioner if you have one – recirculation function is ideal;
• avoid using a swamp cooler or whole-house fan to prevent bringing outdoor pollutants inside.

The U.S. EPA’s Smoke-Ready toolbox offers helpful tips to protect your health and that of those around you at https://www.epa.gov/pm-pollution/fires-and-your-health.

MDAQMD encourages residents to check local air quality levels by visiting www.AirNow.gov.

Sign up for txt and email air quality forecasts here

Introducing the newest members of the MDAQMD team As we announced in the Winter 2022 edition of Air Mail, MDAQMD welcomed two more team members in March: Robert “Mike” Mitchell is an Air Quality Specialist I in Compliance and Truong Tran is our new Grants Specialist in Support Services. Mike Mitchell Mike was born and raised in Barstow. An avid sports enthusiast and athlete, Mike played baseball for La Sierra University where he earned a bachelor’s degree in business administration. From there, he was a technical salesperson in the oil and gas industry in Denver – covering a wide region of five states. He returned to Barstow in 2014 to be closer to family and went to work for a manufacturer of hydraulic breakers and demolition equipment used in quarry rock breaking. He was eventually promoted to production and safety manager. “I have always been an advocate of environmental health and safety for the public, especially being in the industries that I have already,” Mike says. He constantly had in focus the need to assure operators were diligent in their awareness of environmental health and safety. “(That) makes me extremely eager to be a part of the great team here at MDAQMD.” Truong Tran Truong is an Apple Valley resident who earned his undergrad degree at Cal Poly Pomona. Following college, Truong worked for NASA Technology Commercialization as a Special Relationship Specialist, helping his team win multiple awards. “My interest in MDAQMD sparked after reading the mission statement and learning about the positive impact the District provides on the community,” Truong said. “I, too, want to create an influence for those around me.” Truong enjoys hiking with his dogs in his free time – free time when he’s not working on his farm. While he has a house in Apple Valley, Truong grows and maintains a separate 40-acre farm full of fruit trees. He began this farming project when he moved to the High Desert in 2020 at the onset of the pandemic. “Growing up in Vietnam, my parents had a fruit farm, and I remember bringing my childhood friends there to play and devour the fruits during harvesting season,” he said. “I guess you can say that's when I fell in love with nature and wanted this for myself.”

Brad Poiriez, Executive Director/Air Pollution Control Officer

MDAQMD is the air pollution control authority and permitting agency for the High Desert portion of San Bernardino County and the Palo Verde Valley in Riverside County. It’s governed by a board of 13 members representing nine incorporated municipalities and two counties within its boundaries:

Air Mail is a quarterly newsletter published by the Communications section of the MDAQMD.